'Aasmani': Sayani Gupta’s Directorial Debut to Screen at Dharamshala International Film Festival and Oscar-Qualifying Tasveer Film Festival

After wins in Vancouver, Atlanta and Boston, the actor-filmmaker’s directorial debut has three more festival selections lined up.

Team THR India

Updated:15th Oct, 2026 at 4:29 PM

Sayani Gupta’s directorial debut Aasmani is headed to the 15th Dharamshala International Film Festival and Kyiv’s Molodist International Film Festival. The film is also an official selection at Seattle’s Oscar-qualifying Tasveer Film Festival. The short film, starring Revathy, Daria Bedi and Abhay Kaul, has won awards at festivals in Atlanta, Boston, Toronto and Vancouver.

Actor Sayani Gupta's directorial debut Aasmani (2026) has been selected for the 15th Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF), which runs from October 29 to November 1. The short film is also an official selection at the 21st Tasveer Film Festival in Seattle, an Oscar-qualifying festival for South Asian cinema, currently underway until October 18.

Written, directed and produced by Gupta, known for her work in Article 15 (2019) and Four More Shots Please! (2019), Aasmani stars veteran actor Revathy alongside newcomer Daria Bedi and Abhay Kaul. Gupta has described the film as a story of love, companionship and freedom, centred on women of different ages.

Sayani Gupta behind the seasons of 'Aasmani', with veteran actor Revathy

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The film is produced by Sayani Gupta Movies (SGM) in association with the Sumitra Gupta Foundation for Arts (SGFA) and One India Stories, with Nikkhil Advani, Dia Mirza and Ananya Rane among its executive producers. Aasmani began its festival run at the 59th WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival in April.

The film is headed next to Ukraine for the 55th Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival, scheduled from October 24 to November 1. Aasmani was recently screened at the International Film Festival of South Asia (IFFSA) in Toronto, where Gupta received the South Asian Screen Excellence Award.

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At iSAFF Vancouver, Gupta won the Leadership Award for Excellence in Films, while Aasmani received an honourable mention for Best Film. The film won Best Film at the Atlanta Indian Film Festival. Aasmani also screened at the Oscar-qualifying Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF) this year, as well as at the DC South Asian Film Festival, Kerala’s IDSFFK and the Chicago South Asian Film Festival.