WINNERS OF 2026 ANNOUNCED

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This year’s Wench Film Festival poster is set in a hospital.

It was inspired by a member of our team who has had a relentlessly difficult year, and then suffered a serious leg injury that brought her into hospital care.

The hospital, for us, is not a metaphor for healing or clarity. It’s a place where limits become unavoidable, where the body interrupts everything else.

This poster is dedicated to the many women who carry too much, for too long, across work, care, and survival, until something finally gives.

It’s not about making light of pain. It’s about acknowledging it.

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SIXTH EDITION FEB 26-MAR 1 AF MUMBAI

OPENING/CLOSING FILM

WFF is stoked to Announce the India Premiere of The Red Mask as
The Opening Film !
Directed by Ritesh Gupta

🗓️ Thurs February 26, 2026
📍 AF Bombay Auditorium
⏰ 6pm

Post show QnA
LIMITED PASSES

WFF is stoked to Announce the India Premiere of Mother Of Flies as
The Closing Film !
Directed by Adams Family

🗓️ Sun March 1, 2026
📍 AF Bombay Auditorium
⏰ 6pm

Post show QnA
LIMITED PASSES

LIMITED PASSES MUMBAI

2026 FULL PROGRAMME

OPENING NIGHT / FEB 26 AF MUMBAI

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DAY 2 / FEB 27 AF MUMBAI

PASS HERE - MUMBAI

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FRI FEB 28 6PM @ AF THEOSOPHY HALL

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MUMBAI

BUY TICKETS ON INSIDER

DAY 4 / MAR 1 AF MUMBAI

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Film Schedule 2025

STOKED FOR THESE COLLABORATIONS

SCREENING SCHEDULE

JURY

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Day 4.

We closed with Mother of Flies.
Naturally.

Projector off.
Banners down.
Team horizontal.

Teardown is ugly.
Joy isn’t.

That’s a wrap.

PS - We taking March off! See you April 10 for our monthly screening at AF de Bombay Churchgate!

#WenchFilmFestival #indianhorror #MumbaiEvents #horrorfilmfestival #alliancefrançaise

[ Wench Film Festival, Horror Cinema, Genre Cinema, Independent Film, Women in Horror, South Asian Cinema, Indian Horror Films, Sci-Fi Cinema, Fantasy Cinema, Film Festival India ]

Day 3. India Focus.
The crowd said “full house.” Our bodies said “please sit down.”
No seats. No voice. Still standing. Somehow.

Dont miss CLOSING DAY
starts at NOON TODAY!

Schedule Link In bio

#WenchFilmFestival #indianhorror #MumbaiEvents #horrorfilmfestival #alliancefrançaise

[ Wench Film Festival, Horror Cinema, Genre Cinema, Independent Film, Women in Horror, South Asian Cinema, Indian Horror Films, Sci-Fi Cinema, Fantasy Cinema, Film Festival India ]

Day 2: no cooling down.

Winners announced.
Islander stirred the room.
International Shorts brought the chaos.
Asia block came in sharp.

We came for films.
We stayed for the conversations after.

#WenchFilmFestival #bodyhorror #MumbaiEvents #horrorfilmfestival #indianhorror

[ Wench Film Festival, Horror Cinema, Genre Cinema, Independent Film, Women in Horror, South Asian Cinema, Indian Horror Films, Sci-Fi Cinema, Fantasy Cinema, Film Festival India ]

BLOODTHIRSTY Winner: Mother of Flies - The Adams Family 🏆

Deliciously deranged.
Beautifully unholy.

Some films sip blood.
This one bathed in it.

Jury Citation-
Selected as the top film of the 2026 Wench Festival, Mother of Flies feels deeply aligned with what Wench stands for: bold, woman-led horror that isn’t afraid to get intimate, messy, and emotionally honest. In its meditation on death, care, and transformation, the film embraces horror as a space for grief, truth, strangeness, and storytelling that refuses to play it safe.

Thank you to our Jury
Abby Wright
Kaizad Gustad
Mo Moshaty

Thank you Joe from Yellow Veil for your support.

Toby visited India for our 24 edition and won best film then as well! Slide 5!

You can catch
🔊 Mother Of Flies
🗓️ Sun Mar 1
📍 Alliance Française de Bombay in Churchgate
⏰ 6pm 🪳🪰💓

#WenchFilmFestival #bodyhorror #MumbaiEvents #horrorfilmfestival #indianhorror

[ Wench Film Festival, Horror Cinema, Genre Cinema, Independent Film, Women in Horror, South Asian Cinema, Indian Horror Films, Sci-Fi Cinema, Fantasy Cinema, Film Festival India ]

DWARVES Winner: Barlebas 🏆
Directed by Malu Janssen
(from the @fantasiafestival Born of Woman 2025 block)

Small in duration.
Absolutely not small in power.

Special Mentions:
Foreigners Only — Nuhash Humayun
Moti — Yash Saraf

Short films. Sharp teeth.

Jury
Leila Taylor
James McNally
Sara Lopo
Sultan Barodawala

Citation
With 34 incredible short films to choose from, electing one winner was no easy task. After carefully reviewing and discussing them all, the jury has decided to award the one title that stood out for its stark black and white cinematography, its incredible use of sound, and a uniquely restrained portrayal of a witch trial - the winner is Barlebas by Malu Janssen.

We would also like to give a special mention to two films that managed to surprise and have stuck with us. The first one is Moti by Yash Saraf for its unexpected tenderness in such a surreal setting, and the second is Foreigners Only by Nuhash Humayun for its humorous and satirical tone in portraying the worldwide relatable housing crisis.

You can catch
🔊 Barlebas
🗓️ Sun Mar 1
📍 Alliance Française de Bombay in Churchgate
⏰ 5pm 🪳🪰💓

#WenchFilmFestival #bodyhorror #MumbaiEvents #horrorfilmfestival #indianhorror

[ Wench Film Festival, Horror Cinema, Genre Cinema, Independent Film, Women in Horror, South Asian Cinema, Indian Horror Films, Sci-Fi Cinema, Fantasy Cinema, Film Festival India ]

ELVES Winner: Dhet! 🏆

Under 10 minutes.
Overdelivered.

Special Mentions:
Wall Udder - Alexandra Hayden
Whodunnit - Aditya Nair

Short runtime. Long impact.

Jury
Claire Donner
Shannon Hanmer
Simon Laperrière

Citation
We, the jury, are proud to give the Elves Award to Ummid Ashraf’s impressive DHET!.
Taking the audience straight into the nights of Dhaka, this wonderful film turns an urban landscape into a frightful maze. Directed with expertise, the short quickly becomes a suspenseful adrenaline rush - with one truly effective jump scare!

We are also happy to give a Special Mention to Aditya Nair’s WHODUNIT and Alexandra Hayden’s WALL UDDER.
While very different, those two films are not afraid to storm normality with weirdness, humor and passion.

#WenchFilmFestival #bodyhorror #MumbaiEvents #horrorfilmfestival #indianhorror

[ Wench Film Festival, Horror Cinema, Genre Cinema, Independent Film, Women in Horror, South Asian Cinema, Indian Horror Films, Sci-Fi Cinema, Fantasy Cinema, Film Festival India ]

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