Delhi short film on red silk cotton tree selected for Kathmandu festival

A short documentary film titled A Spring Against All Odds has been selected for the Film SouthAsia festival in Kathmandu, which takes place from November 27 to 29, 2026. The movie is one of 48 films chosen for the international event.

What Happened

The film was made by Roundglass Sustain. It is based on a story and script written by Radhika Raj, and it was directed and edited by Samreen Farooqui. The documentary captures three years of Radhika observing a red silk cotton tree, also known as a semal tree, outside the window of her Delhi home starting in 2021.

The Story

The project began when Radhika and her partner Saptak moved into their new house and noticed a pair of grey hornbills nesting in the tree. The tree soon became a silent witness to several tough moments in Radhika's life and the wider city, including a badly handled pandemic, heavy winter pollution, summer floods, political changes, and personal grief. Besides Radhika and Saptak, the film features their house help Swati, their cats Chutney and Chikki, the semal tree, and the hornbills. Samreen started the project by asking Radhika to place a camera on her window and record what happened outside. What began as a simple nature video slowly grew into a full documentary as Radhika shared her thoughts about the tree, the city of Delhi, and how nature helped her cope with emotional pain.

Context

Delhi is known for its many semal trees, and the documentary uses the tree as a way to explore city life and how nature connects with human struggles. The film also includes verses by the 18th-century Urdu poet Mir Taqi Mir to set its tone and reflect the history of Delhi.