Kiran Rao and Dia Mirza are bringing a new and honest face to cinema

Watch Kiran Rao and Dia Mirza’s films at ALT EFF, which will show the struggle between development and nature.

Movies

These days, films are not just entertainment, but also a window into truths we often overlook. Something similar is going to happen at India’s renowned ‘All Living Things Environmental Film Festival’ (ALT EFF).

This time, the festival is bringing two very special stories that will touch the heart—on one side is the feature film Humans in the Loop and on the other side is the short film Panha. Let’s find out more.

Panha: The Battle

Imagine a little boy playing in the mango orchards of his village, suddenly discovering that the bullet train will now run there.

Panha is the story. This Marathi short film depicts the pain of a Maharashtrian village where its roots are being uprooted in the name of development.

Dia Mirza, a key player in the project, says that this story is very close to her heart because it’s not just a film, but the reality of many parts of the country.

How are we losing our traditions and farming in the pursuit of ‘progress’? This film raises the same question.

Where is human understanding in the age of AI?

On the other hand, there is Kiran Rao’s executive-produced film, Humans in the Loop.

We all talk about AI these days, but have you ever wondered who is behind it? This film is the story of an Adivasi woman who works as an AI data labeler.

How strange does it sound? On one hand, centuries-old indigenous wisdom and on the other, future technology.

Kiran Rao is absolutely right when he says that we are forgetting human intuition in the race for automation. Technology should be for us, not us for technology.

The Unique Confluence of Soil and the Digital World

Anaka, co-founder of ALT EFF, explains this beautifully. She believes that while Panha is connected to the village soil and Humans in the Loop is connected to the digital world, the message of both is the same—balance. We must think about what kind of world we are building.

Starting an Important Conversation

This festival isn’t just a place to watch films, but a chance to pause and reflect.

Whether it’s Dia Mirza or Kiran Rao, everyone wants us to understand through these stories the impact our environment and our choices will have on future generations.