Tribeny Rai’s ‘Shape of Momo’ Wins Grand Jury Prize at Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles

Home Film Festivals Apr 28, 2026 6:50am PT Tribeny Rai’s ‘Shape of Momo’ Wins Grand Jury Prize at Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles By Naman Ramachandran Plus Icon Naman Ramachandran Latest Penny Chapman Uses Hector Crawford Lecture to Warn on AI, Celebrate Matchbox Legacy and Call for Bolder Australian Storytelling at Screen Forever Conference 2 hours ago Animated Feature ‘The Violinist’ Makes History at Annecy as First Singaporean Film in Main Competition 3 hours ago ‘Star Wars’ Original Trilogy In-Concert Weekender Set at London’s Royal Albert Hall for 2027 4 hours ago See All Celluloid Dreams Tribeny Rai’s debut feature “Shape of Momo” claimed the Grand Jury Prize for best feature at the 24th Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. “We are honored to award the Grand Jury Prize to a debut film that deftly creates a protagonist who inhabits the gray area between righteousness and humility, and delicately charts her journey through the complexities of class and gender in a place steeped in tradition,” the feature jury stated. blogherads.adq.push(function () { blogherads .defineSlot( 'medrec', 'gpt-variety-article-mid-article-uid0' ) .setTargeting( 'pos', ["mid-article1","mid-articleX","mid","mid-article"] ) .setTargeting( 'viewable', 'yes' ) .setSubAdUnitPath("ros\/mid-article") .addSize([[300,250],[2,2],[300,251],[2,4],[4,2],[320,480],[620,366]]) .setClsOptimization("minsize") ; }); Related Stories Philomena Cunk Returns! Diane Morgan’s Beloved Idiot Heads to the Movies With ‘Cunk on Cinema’ for BBC, Netflix (EXCLUSIVE) Netflix Expands Video Podcast Slate With Shows from 'Rotten Mango' Creator Stephanie Soo, Evan Ross Katz, NBC News' Ellison Barber and Magician David Kwong The feature jury – composed of cinematographer Farhad Ahmed Dehlvi, filmmaker Juan Pablo González and film curator Caroline Libresco – also awarded honorable mentions to Sarmad Sultan Khoosat’s “Lali” and Seemab Gul’s “Ghost School.” Of “Lali,” jurors said: “Moving between genres with ease and exuberance, this film envelopes the audience in a vibrant symphony of music and color.” On “Ghost School,” the jury called it “a beautifully restrained, artistically precise debut feature that works both as a powerful political allegory and as piercing social realism.” Popular on Variety if ( !window.pmc.harmony?.isEventAdScheduledTime() ) { pmcCnx.cmd.push(function() { pmcCnx({ settings: { plugins: { pmcAtlasMG: { iabPlcmt: 2, } } }, playerId: 'fdaee7b3-292f-4a85-89bb-29a56b567de3', playlistId: '073c6e70-0010-4b87-92d0-d891f87f5cd8', }).render("connatix_contextual_player_div"); }); } else { // This should only be get called when page cache is not cleared and it's event time. window.pmc.harmony?.switchToHarmonyPlayer(); } The Grand Jury Prize for best short went to “Room at the Farm,” directed by Jasmine Kaur Roy and Avinash Roy. “A delicate and nuanced allegory of the fragility of human relationships when faced with the impact of modernization. This film represents rural Punjab with a gaze rarely seen, one that centralizes humanity and desire. Over the course of 23 succinct minutes, it allows us to negotiate a devastating reality alongside its characters,” the shorts jury said. Shorts honorable mentions went to Ananth Subramaniam’s “Bleat!” and Sana Zahra Jafri’s “Permanent Guest.” The shorts jury – film curator Malin Kan and filmmaker Alisha Tejpal – described “Bleat!” as “an absurdist commentary that throws into question our understanding of religion, gender and cultural…

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