Pune: Shubham Sumit had learned to imagine films much before he had ever watched one.Two decades ago, in Buxar (Bihar), Sumit used to lie on the terrace of his house on summer nights. Since electricity arrived in the town only in the last decade, he would hear movies playing on TV being run by tractor batteries on his neighbour’s terrace. The dialogues and songs drifting through the darkness would fill him with wonder. On Sunday, Sumit (29) won the Silver Conch for Best Indian Short Fiction Film for his FTII diploma film Small Clouds at the 19th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF). Sumit has journeyed far from hearing movies in the dark to being celebrated for making one. Now his ambition is to make feature films.Sumit took a small detour to earn a chemical engineering degree from IIT Bombay before becoming a filmmaker. Instead of appearing for placements, he joined the masters course in direction and screenplay at FTII, passing in 2025. He works for Guneet Monga’s production house Sikhya Entertainment, currently.This year, FTII won big at MIFF — with its students and alumni getting various awards. Milan Kumar won the IDPA award for Best Student Film (national competition) for The Old Bull Knows or Once Knew. Randhir (Ranadhir) Biswas won the Best Cinematography Award (national competition) for Small Clouds. Alumnus Sainath S Uskaikar won the Silver Conch for Best Indian Documentary Film Waai. MIFF is the oldest and largest film festival for non-feature films in South Asia.Growing up in a lower middle class farming household, Sumit loved stories. “My twin sister and I would buy pulp novels for Rs5 from a man who would roam around with a bag of books. It was our only access to stories, other than textbooks. The village was so behind that electricity arrived only in 2014. Also, watching movies was considered bad,” said Sumit. He remembered his father renting a TV and CD player because Sumit had to appear for a quiz competition in Patna. One round was to identify actors from a scene or the movie. “We just fast forward everything to recognise the actors and movies for four days,” he said.In Class VI, he moved to Jharkhand’s Netarhat Residential School, which opened a world of literature and politics to him. He topped Class X. Later, Sumit — who wanted to become a novelist — was told by everyone that IIT was the best way ahead and he joined the Chemistry dept at IIT Bombay.There he found a tribe that loved poetry, theatre and films. “I watched Pather Panchali for the first time and found my calling,” said Sumit, who says his decision to not take a cushy job and join FTII in 2020 shocked his parents. “They have no idea about films and it took them time to understand my decision.”Covid pandemic meant he could not attend college for almost two years, finally completing his course in 2025. “FTII was a revelation. It taught me to not just accept, but question everything. I learnt nothing is simple, you have to peel the layers and look at things from all angles,” he said.Meanwhile, his diploma film Small Clouds is a group effort between him and four of his batchmates. “The story is about fraternal twins — a brother and sister — on the verge of their teens. They escape into a world of adventure, but conflicts arise when they start to grow up. National Film Development Corporation of India called it a ‘moving exploration of childhood, the film touched hearts through its emotional depth and evocative storytelling’ in its X post.The story comes from a place of memory, experiences and nostalgia. “I am still scared to show it to my twin sister. I don’t know how she will react,” said Sumit.Among other student films, Madhurima Maiti received a grant of Rs1 lakh for her documentary project The Girl Beneath The Sun at the 2nd WAVES Doc Bazaar held alongside MIFF 2026.The alumni who made their presence felt were Bigyna Dahal for Best Sound Design Award under the National Competition category for film Kovarty. Pooja Tolani received the Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari Award for Best Debut Director for film Raaza. Additionally, the Best Short Film Award on Viksit Bharat/ 150 Years of Vande Mataram/ Bharat@2047 was awarded to The Last Shelter and received by alumnus Rajesh Bhatia and Bharat Arora.
