Sayani Gupta’s Directorial Debut Aasmani Selected for 10 Film Festivals Across Four Countries

Sayani Gupta’s transition from actor to filmmaker is gaining momentum as her directorial debut, Aasmani, has been selected for 10 film festivals across four countries over the next two months. Written and directed by Gupta, the short film is set to travel across the United States, Canada, Japan and India, giving the filmmaker a substantial international festival run for her first project behind the camera.

Among the upcoming festival appearances are the Washington DC South Asian Film Festival, Tokyo International Short Film Festival, India International Film Festival of Boston, Chicago South Asian Film Festival and Atlanta International Film Festival. In India, Aasmani has been selected for the Short Film Competition at the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) and was also part of the Indian Competition at the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF). Four additional festival selections are yet to be announced, according to the current update.

The scale of the festival journey is notable because Aasmani is Gupta’s first directorial venture. The film has already moved beyond the stage of being simply an actor-led experiment, securing screenings and recognition at several international events.

A film built around a grandmother, granddaughter and a vintage car

At the heart of Aasmani is the relationship between Smita, an elderly woman, and her 10-year-old granddaughter Tiya. A powder-blue vintage Fiat named Aasmani is central to their story and becomes much more than a vehicle within the narrative.

The official New York Indian Film Festival listing describes Smita’s decades-long relationship with the car and the financial and practical difficulties she faces in keeping it running. As pressure grows to replace the old vehicle with a more modern and economical alternative, Smita and Tiya attempt to find a way to save it.

The film uses that relationship to explore love, loss, ageing, friendship and intergenerational connection. Its premise gives the short a personal, intimate scale while allowing the vintage car to function as an emotional link between different stages of Smita’s life.

The film stars Revathy Asha, Daria Bedi and Abhay Kaul. The New York Indian Film Festival listed Aasmani as a 30-minute Indian short in English and Hindi and screened it on May 31, 2026.

The festival journey started earlier in 2026

The current 10-festival announcement is not the beginning of Aasmani’s festival run.

The film screened at the Indie Meme Film Festival in Austin, Texas, on April 26 as part of the Family Shorts programme. Indie Meme’s official film listing identifies Gupta as the film’s writer, director and producer and lists Sayani Gupta Movies, Sumitra Gupta Foundation for Arts and One India Stories among the producers.

The Austin festival also became an early success story for the film. Aasmani received the Best Short Audience Choice Award at Indie Meme’s 2026 edition. The festival’s own programme records the award, while the festival’s film page also records the film’s Best Short Audience Choice recognition.

Before that, Aasmani began its festival journey at the 59th WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, where it was selected in the PG Magic Shorts category. Later, the film was also screened at the New York Indian Film Festival, where Revathy Asha was among the nominees for Best Actress and Aasmani appeared in the Best Short (Narrative) field.

The New York screening carries an additional career connection for Gupta. NYIFF had previously been part of her early acting journey through Margarita with a Straw. Her return to the festival this time was as a filmmaker rather than only as an actor.

BISFF adds an Indian festival milestone

In August, Aasmani was part of the Indian Competition at the 16th Bengaluru International Short Film Festival.

The festival's official information confirms that BISFF is an Oscar-qualifying short film festival, with Aasmani included in its Indian Competition. The film screened on August 16 as part of the competition programme.

That placement is significant for a debut short because BISFF provides a platform specifically designed around short-form filmmaking, bringing together Indian and international filmmakers and industry professionals. The 2026 edition received more than 3,300 submissions from over 100 countries, according to festival coverage.

A new chapter for Sayani Gupta behind the camera

Gupta has spent more than a decade building an acting career across films, theatre and streaming. Her filmography includes projects such as Margarita with a Straw, Jolly LLB 2 and Article 15, along with prominent streaming work including Four More Shots Please! and Inside Edge.

In an interview with mid-day, Gupta discussed her longstanding interest in filmmaking and recalled that while studying acting at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), she had even come close to switching from acting to direction. She described filmmaking as something she had wanted to explore beyond simply performing in front of the camera.

That background makes Aasmani more than a routine celebrity directorial debut. The project represents a move towards creating and producing her own stories, with Gupta also establishing Sayani Gupta Movies, the production banner associated with the film.

Aasmani has also had a difficult festival chapter

The film’s festival progress has not been entirely straightforward.

In August, the Indian Film Festival of New Zealand (TIFFNZ) withdrew its invitation to screen Aasmani amid a copyright and confidentiality dispute. Filmmaker Vinita Negi alleged similarities between Gupta’s film and her unfinished documentary project Prabha. Gupta has denied the allegations and disputed the claims of copyright infringement. The festival withdrawal was described as a precaution rather than a legal finding against the film.

The dispute has since entered the courts. Gupta filed a ₹9-crore defamation suit against Negi and others, and a Mumbai civil court granted her interim relief on September 3/4, restraining the publication and circulation of material it considered defamatory. The court also clarified that its order did not prevent the publication of accurate, verified information based on official records or judicial proceedings.

This distinction is important: the copyright allegations remain a disputed matter, not an established finding that Aasmani infringes anyone’s work. The recent court order concerns the alleged defamatory publication of material surrounding the dispute; it does not amount to a final judicial determination of the underlying copyright question.

The Celebrity Hour Take

For Gupta, Aasmani is developing into an interesting test of what can happen when an established actor steps behind the camera with a personal, relatively intimate story.

The film’s festival trajectory is particularly notable because its recognition has come from different kinds of platforms: an Oscar-qualifying short-film festival in Bengaluru, a South Asian-focused festival in Austin, and the New York Indian Film Festival, alongside the newly announced international selections.

The bigger takeaway is not simply the number 10. It is that Gupta’s first film is being circulated in a festival ecosystem that can introduce independent work to audiences and programmers well beyond the conventional Hindi-film circuit.

At the same time, the copyright dispute adds a complicated chapter to what had otherwise been a promising debut. With the film continuing to secure festival selections while the legal disagreement develops separately, Aasmani has become both a filmmaking milestone for Gupta and a closely watched independent-film story.

For now, the confirmed festival expansion gives the short a considerably wider international footprint than its modest format might suggest.

Sources & Verification

This report was prepared using official festival listings and programmes from the New York Indian Film Festival and Indie Meme Film Festival, official Bengaluru International Short Film Festival information, and independent reporting on Aasmani’s wider festival selections and career context. The Celebrity Hour also reviewed recent court-related reporting to accurately distinguish the film’s festival progress from the separate copyright and defamation dispute.