Shaped by life experiences as a woman in a patriarchal society and steamed with insights, Shape of Momo, Sikkim filmmaker Tribeny Rai's debut offering is getting ready to be tasted at the global buffet of film flavours, Cannes.

Nepali film Shape of Momo has won the prestigious “HAF Goes to Cannes Programme” award, providing Tribeny, 33, with a rare opportunity to screen her film at the Marche du Film, Festival de Cannes, to be held from May 13 to 21.

The Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) award is presented to work-in-progress films by the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) and Marché du Film. Tribeny attended the three-day international festival which ended on Wednesday.

“Fifteen films were vying for the slots. The itinerary for Cannes hasn't been drawn up but the programme includes screening of our film at the festival,” Tribeny told The Telegraph over the phone from Hong Kong.

Tribeny recounted the basic premise of her film. Her protagonist, Bishnu, resigns from her job and returns to her family which is apparently cursed by the deaths of several of its male members. Bishnu finds the women in the family without any agency, which spurs her to become her own person.

It's the journey of a woman who thinks and decides for herself, according to the young filmmaker, despite the overwhelming pressure to conform.

Five films were declared winners of the programme at the festival. Tribeny’s film's apart, the other winners were Her First Taste from China, PANGKU (On Your Lap) from Indonesia, Say My Name (China) and White Flowers and Fruits from Japan.

Currently an India-Nepal co-production involving Dalley Khorsani Productions, Kathkala Films, Tribeny and her film's producers Kislay and Geeta Rai are now seeking post-production funding to complete this labour of love.

The alumna of St Joseph’s College (North Point), Darjeeling, and the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Calcutta, has made short films and documentaries in the past, but "this is my first full feature film”, she said.

Tribeny had pitched the film’s idea at a talent camp at the Fajr International Film Festival in Tehran, Iran, in 2019.

“During the master class in Iran, I had pitched a part of this film’s idea,” said Tribeny.

Last year, Shape of Momo was selected by the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) for its prestigious “lab” during the International Film Festival of India held in Goa. It was also a part of Film Bazaar’s Work-in-Progress lab. The “labs” gave Tribeny a chance to screen the rough cut of the film before a panel of international advisers, including festival directors, film critics, producers and editors, and seek their feedback.

She started shooting in January last year, mostly in Sikkim’s Nandok, where she hails from.

Post-production work is now being done in Mumbai. In the past, Tribeny’s short film, Memory of a Heart, won the Best Short Film at the Northeast Film Festival and the Audience Choice Award at The Women’s Voices Now Film Festival in California.

She also represented India at the 2024 Busan International Film Festival in South Korea.

While making films is her life’s calling, Tribeny works with Doordarshan Gangtok and Delhi and holds sessions at Sikkim University as her day jobs.