A Doll Made Up of Clay, a students’ film from Kolkata’s Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), has been officially selected for the La Cinef segment at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
La Cinef is the festival’s competitive section for films made by students from film schools around the world. Directed by Kokob Gebrehaweria Tesfay, a student of direction and screenplay writing at SRFTI, the film is among the 16 entries to be featured this year.
Tesfay, originally from Zalambessa, Ethiopia, draws inspiration from oral storytelling traditions passed down by his grandfather, a priest. A Doll Made Up of Clay incorporates these influences into its narrative style.
The film was initiated as part of the ‘Zero Budget Film Exercise’ under SRFTI’s Producing Department. The exercise requires student producers to create films with no financial resources. Sahil Ingle, a student from Maharashtra, produced the project.
The film’s technical team includes Vinod Kumar (cinematography), Mahmud Abu Naser (editing), Soham Pal (sound recording and design), and Himangshu Saikia (music).
A Doll Made Up of Clay follows Oluwaseyi, a young Nigerian footballer, who after selling his father’s land to chase a football career in India, suffers a devastating injury that ends his dreams.
“Being selected as both writer and director, as an international student, is more than an achievement. It's a reflection of where I come from, the stories I carry, and the voices I strive to represent.. To everyone who stood beside me through the highs and the lows - thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Tesfay posted on Instagram.
For the La Cinef section, organisers have selected 13 live-action and three animated films from a pool of 2,700 submissions by film schools around the world.
The jury for La Cinef is chaired by German writer-director Maren Ade, with members including American filmmaker Reinaldo Marcus Green, French singer-actor Camelia Jordana, Spanish producer Jose Maria Prado Garcia, and Croatian director Nebojsa Slijepcevic.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony ahead of the screening of the awarded films on May 22 at the Bunuel Theatre.
The 78th Cannes Film Festival is scheduled to take place from May 13 to 24.