Kidney, the second feature from brothers Aakarsh and Agrim Sansanwal, will have its world premiere in the Critics’ Picks competition at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) in Estonia. The black comedy is set in a remote Indian village and follows lovers from rival families whose relationship is tested by an inheritance dispute. Produced by the brothers’ Enfant Terrible Productions and co-produced by Shiladitya Bora’s Platoon One Films, the film was completed with help from the village’s farming community after the budget ran out.
The film is backed by Enfant Terrible Productions—founded by the Sansanwal brothers—and co-produced by Shiladitya Bora for Platoon One Films, whose past credits include acclaimed international festival titles such as Bayaan, Ghaath, and Yours Truly.
The Critics’ Picks Competition at Tallinn Black Nights highlights films with a definitive artistic vision and an original approach to storytelling, showcasing works that engage with genre, film history, and contemporary social realities. Previous editions of the section have famously featured Arati Kadav’s Mrs. (starring Sanya Malhotra), alongside acclaimed international titles such as The Brothers Kitaura, About Us But Not About Us, and The Bone Breakers.
Director Aakarsh Sansanwal shared his gratitude for the journey, stating, “We made the film with very little money and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of spirit. When the budget ran out, the entire village, its farming community, stood behind us. They helped us through the hurdles and, in their own way, became part of the film’s journey. This film carries the hands and hearts of the people who helped bring it into the world. Platoon One Films was one of the first to recognise that spirit in the film and believe in what we were trying to do. Their support gave the film a chance to travel beyond the world in which it was made and reach audiences we could only have hoped for.”
According to the official logline, Kidney is set in a remote Indian village, where a young man and a woman from rival families find love. But when a bitter inheritance dispute threatens to reopen old wounds, their relationship is tested by greed, betrayal and the weight of a conflict neither chose.
Weighing in on the acquisition, Shiladitya Bora, founder of Platoon One Films, noted that when he first saw Kidney, he knew he was “looking at something different, something that hadn’t been attempted in quite this way.”
Hailing the Sansanwal brothers’ “strong and distinct voice,” Bora added, “It would be easy to dismiss a film like Kidney as esoteric, but what struck me was the depth of emotion underneath its craft and form. There is a dense, deeply felt emotional layer running through the film, and the film’s unique style becomes a way of expressing that emotion rather than an end in itself. That is exactly the kind of cinema Platoon One wants to stand behind: original, distinctive and deeply rooted voices. I couldn’t let go of this film after I saw it.”
Aakarsh and Agrim Sansanwal are independent filmmakers based between Mumbai and Delhi. While Aakarsh has previously worked as an assistant director alongside Reema Kagti, Abhinay Deo, and Pushpendra Misra, Agrim trained in filmmaking with a specialisation in editing, assisting editor Deepa Bhatia on Skater Girl.
The duo previously wrote and co-directed their debut experimental feature, To Caterpillar, From Butterfly, which premiered at the Dharamshala International Film Festival.