Kumud Ranjan in Seoul, South Korea, on Sunday. Telegraph picture

A documentary film produced by Bihar boy Kumud Ranjan has made it to the 19th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) to be held in Haeundae-gu, South Korea, from October 2 to 11.

Kumud is also the cinematographer of the 80-minute documentary Footprints in the Desert, directed by Balanka Ghosh. The movie is based on the lives of people living along the India-Pakistan border.

Kumud (32) has done masters in mass communication from Makhanalal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication and directed several other documentaries showcased at international film festivals.

He first came to the limelight when he made a 26-minute documentary on the life of late Dashrath Manjhi, popularly known as the Mountain Man of Gaya. The documentary film, The Man Who Moved the Mountain, released in 2011, was shown at the Mumbai International Film Festival, 2012, and the Kerala International Film Festival, 2012. The Films Division, ministry of information and broadcasting funded it.

Expressing happiness at being selected for one of the most significant film festivals in Asia, Kumud told The Telegraph over phone from Seoul: “It was the happiest moment for me in my film career. It was a proud moment not just for me but also for the people of Bihar. I never thought this film would make it to Busan. I am happy to be a part of it.”

For the past 10 years, he was involved — as a producer, cinematographer, researcher or director — in documentaries funded by international funding agencies, international TV channels, various state governments, and Government of India. He recently directed a short film, Khushboo’s Deadline, a story on a teenaged girl of Muzaffarpur district in Bihar who runs a local TV channel. Al Jazeera produced the film.

Before foraying into filmmaking, Kumud, the son of government employee, worked as a cameraman with a national Hindi news channel. He had also directed a documentary, After the Aftermath, on the Bathani Tola massacre in which the Ranvir Sena men slaughtered 21 Dalits.

“I am always drawn towards human interest stories,” Kumud said. Sharing the theme of Footprints in the Desert, Kumud said: “It is a human story set on the India-Pakistan border in Rajasthan. In the movie, Abdul, aged 85 years, has the amazing ability to read the footprints that cross the border. And there’s 35-year-old Alhadeen, who travels along the border in search of people who need help. These people along the border do not ask you which nationality or religion you belong to before offering you food, shelter and water. Even if you are from the other side they don’t turn you away.”

Last year, Kumud had made a documentary on Patna University Students’ Union (Pusu) elections. His father A.K. Thakur expressed happiness over his son’s success. “No doubt he has made me proud, but he has a long way to go and I expect him to bring more laurels and honour to the state.”