Kashmiri Short Film ‘Girrd’ (The Daily Bread) Selected for Prestigious International Film Festivals
The Kashmiri-language short film Girrd (The Daily Bread), written and directed by filmmaker Anil Kumar Anand, has earned significant international recognition with official selections at multiple leading film festivals. These include the South Asian Short Film Festival (SASFF), to be held from July 7 to 13, 2025; the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF), India’s largest and only Oscar-qualifying short film festival, scheduled from August 7 to 17, 2025; the India International Film Festival of Boston (IIFFB) in the USA from September 12 to 14, 2025; the Kanazawa Film Festival in Japan from September 18 to 23, 2025; and the Atlanta Indian Film Festival in Georgia, USA, from September 26 to 28, 2025.
Set in a remote Kashmiri village, Girrd portrays the moving story of Mainmuna and her husband Ziya, who struggle to keep their small bakery afloat amid financial hardship and personal challenges. When Ziya is ridiculed for his torn pheran (traditional woolen garment), Mainmuna sews a new one by hand—only to discover it falls short both in size and symbolism. Their fragile existence is further shaken when Mainmuna’s ex-husband Wazeer, presumed dead for three years, unexpectedly returns, demanding either money or his wife back.
The film, shot entirely in Kashmiri with a local cast—Sanam Zeeya, Junaid Rather, Basharat Hussain, and Bilal Bhagat—captures the cultural nuances and emotional depth of the region. “I wrote Girrd years ago with the belief that its essence could only be expressed in Kashmiri,” says director Anil Kumar Anand. “It reflects everyday resilience, unspoken desires, and moral dilemmas of people whose stories rarely reach mainstream cinema.”
Produced by Delhi-based entrepreneur Shipra Gaur and Mumbai-based Anil Kumar Anand, Girrd represents a strong example of independent, regionally rooted filmmaking. Anil, a Mass Communication postgraduate from Jamia Millia Islamia, has over a decade of experience creating diverse audio-visual content, from corporate advertisements to fiction films. His earlier works, including Beech Ka Raasta Nahin Hota (2012), Makkaar (2023), and Dostbook (2024), have been screened at various national and international festivals.
With its powerful narrative, cultural authenticity, and emotional resonance, Girrd stands as a notable contribution to India’s regional cinema movement. The director is currently working on his next project—a feature film for children.
