Kolkata filmmaker’s Bengali-language short film, Jasmine That Blooms in Autumn, exploring elderly queer love, has been named the best narrative short at the KASHISH Pride Film Festival 2025. The award includes a Golden Butterly trophy and a cash prize of Rs 25,000.

Jasmine was competing against My Comrade by Tathagata Ghosh, Velipadu by Jijo Kuriakose, and Because by Sunita Malpani.

The film had its world premiere at the BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival 2025, followed by another screening at the Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF) later in March.

Directed by Chandradeep Das and written by Rahul Roye, who co-wrote the screenplay with Das, the film brings to light the silent struggles and quiet defiance of elderly LGBTQ+ individuals in a conservative society. It has been produced by Nikita Ivanenko, Tushar Tyagi, Rahul Roye, with executive production support from Sein Lyan Tun and Abdullah Al Kandari.

‘Jasmine That Blooms in Autumn’ has bagged the best Indian narrative short award at KASHISH Pride Film Festival Chandradeep Das

Jasmine That Blooms in Autumn revolves around the clandestine love story of two elderly women, Meera (played by Sudipa Basu) and Indira (Uma Jhunjhunwala), who reside in a senior care home. As their relationship blossoms in secrecy, the film delves into broader themes of domestic abuse, toxic masculinity, consent, and societal repression of queer identities.

Manas Bhattacharyya handles the cinematography, while Aritra Dutta Banik is in charge of editing. Sougata Banerjee heads the sound design, while Shehrose Mian has composed the score for the film.

"This is a dream come true for us. Numerous prestigious European film fests have written to us expressing their interest in programming our film, and this win just adds a cherry on top of the cake. I would like to thank Sridhar and Saagar for creating this safe space for one and all," Das told The Telegraph Online.

"A love story between two old women is an often-overlooked narrative. Through their love story, we have endeavoured to make strong commentary against patriarchal repression. While developing the script, we found it organically paved the way for that. That's why we have touched upon pertinent themes and issues such as domestic abuse, toxic masculinity, and the importance of consent," he added.

The 16th edition of KASHISH Pride Film Festival, South Asia’s largest LGBTQ+ film festival, was held in Mumbai from June 4 to June 8. The festival opened with Queer, directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Daniel Craig. Close To You, a poignant narrative by Dominic Savage, headlined by Elliot Page, was the closing film.