Habitat Film Festival
May 15 - 24, 2026
The 18th Habitat Film Festival from May 15 to 24, brings together a handpicked selection of feature films, documentaries, and shorts from 2025–2026. Screenings are paired with conversations with filmmakers, alongside retrospectives, workshops, a book discussion, and an exhibition. Built for collective viewing and shared discovery, HFF remains a cherished annual stop for directors, critics, students, and anyone who loves cinema that thinks aloud.
This year, we pay homage to the many lives of Indian cinema.
A Ritwik Ghatak retrospective featuring Meghe Dhaka Tara, Komal Gandhar, Subarnarekha, and Jukti Takko Aar Gappo stands alongside tributes to Asha Bhosle through Umrao Jaan — for which Bhosle won her first National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the iconic song “Dil Cheez Kya Hai” — and to Dharmendra & Asrani with Chupke Chupke. These classics are presented beside urgent contemporary works including Moham, Baksho Bondi, Vanya, Maliput Melodies, and The Elysian Field.
The festival also presents a short film package from IDPA, including the FCG short film package — bold, boundary-pushing shorts that earned their place at the Critics’ Choice Awards 2026. Alongside them, intimate documentaries from PSBT offer quiet, observational storytelling.
Beyond the programming, HFF offers a sensory upgrade — Dolby Atmos sound and high-end projection make every frame and note land with intention. But technology is only the beginning. The festival is designed to stretch your horizons, not just fill your watchlist.
With films in over 20 languages — from Hindi, Bengali, and Malayalam to Khasi, Karbi, Bhili, and Bhojpuri — HFF delivers a truly pan-Indian selection.
Registrations for IHC Members opens from May 3. Open to all from May 9.
Ritwik Ghatak Retrospective
The Ritwik Ghatak retrospective at HFF brings together four essential works from one of Indian cinema's most radical humanists.
Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960) – a haunting chronicle of a family torn apart by Partition.
Komal Gandhar (1961) – a tender, restless exploration of artistic idealism and romantic longing, set against the backdrop of a struggling theatre group.
Subarnarekha (1965) – the devastating final chapter of Ghatak's Partition trilogy, following a young orphan's search for dignity and belonging across a broken landscape.
Jukti Takko Aar Gappo (1974) – his last film, a feverish, self-reflexive road movie in which an alcoholic intellectual wanders through a Bengal ravaged by Naxalite violence, searching for reason in chaos.
Together, these films don't just document history — they scream, weep, and argue with it. Ghatak's cinema is epic, operatic, and unafraid of its own wounds. A must for anyone who believes that film can be both poetry and protest.
In memoriam
Umrao Jaan (1981) is screened at HFF in remembrance of Asha Bhosle. Bhosle won the National Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song “Dil Cheez Kya Hai” from the film. Her voice doesn't just accompany the film — it becomes its emotional architecture.
HFF commemorates Dharmendra and Asrani with a screening of Chupke Chupke (1975). The film remains a high watermark of Hindi film comedy. Dharmendra, as the playful professor Parimal Tripathi, delivers a performance of quiet mischief, shedding his action-hero persona with ease. Asrani, as the endlessly perplexed servant, finds humour in restraint and impeccable timing.
Together, they prove that the sharpest comedy is also the gentlest.
Short Films
HFF remains, as ever, a vital home for documentaries and short films. Drawn from festival submissions, the lineup spans numerous languages and subjects.
Back by popular demand is the Best of Critics' Choice Awards 2026, curated by the Film Critics Guild, alongside a package of short documentary works from PSBT.
Documentary
Documentaries at HFF cover a wide array of poignant stories, lending a cinematic platform to real people, events, and narratives.
The festival presents a strong selection of documentaries from the Indian Documentary Producers' Association (IDPA).
Registration Procedure
- Registrations open from May 3.
- Passes can be booked for all films.
- Upto 2 passes per member can be booked.
- Passes can be booked for a maximum of three films in a day by one viewer.
- Seating is on a first-come-first served basis.
- Registrations open in two batches.
- Passes for films from May 15th - 19th will open from May 9th.
- Passes for films from May 20th - 24th will open from May 16th.
- Up to 2 passes per viewer can be booked.
- Passes can be booked for a maximum of three films in a day by one viewer.
- Seating is on a first-come-first served basis.