Waves Bazaar: Berlin Gets a Taste of New India Cinema

By Pickle February 10, 2026

From powerful new films to AI-powered media-tech, WAVES Bazaar at Berlinale EFM 2026 presents India as a confident creative force ready for global partnerships and co-production opportunities.

At the heart of the 2026 Berlinale European Film Market, India’s WAVES Bazaar stands as a vibrant bridge between Indian creativity and the world, curated under the aegis of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India. This initiative champions a new era of cross-continental storytelling, innovation, and collaboration, bringing together filmmakers, media-tech entrepreneurs, and creative visionaries.

A Curated Mosaic of Indian Cinema

WAVES Bazaar’s film showcase features nine outstanding projects that traverse India’s rich tapestry of languages, genres, and cultural landscapes. From the gentle resilience of childhood in Theja Rio’s Ade (On a Weekend) set in Nagaland, to Echoes of the Herd, a poignant tale of survival and aspiration amidst Himachal’s Himalayan valleys, each project pulses with authenticity and global resonance.

Aseem Sinha’s Ice-Pice offers a tender, unsettling look inside a child’s life within the walls of an Indian prison, highlighting how innocence persists despite systemic indifference. Meanwhile, Kabootar, by Ishan Sharma, explores the intersection of folklore and urban realities in Delhi through the eyes of a homeless detective and a Japanese teacher, showcasing India’s openness to cross-cultural stories.

Other highlights include Kahin Door (Still Somewhere), a moving drama about a mother’s desperate quest for her son’s survival, and Divya Kharnare’s whimsical Mr. Francis & The Last Standing PCO, where magic realism meets the universal themes of love and loss in Goa.

Animation and innovation find their place with THE G.O.A.T, a hilarious and heartwarming tale inspired by real events, and White Guy, a coming-of-age musical comedy delving into identity and race in 1980s Birmingham through the lens of the South Asian diaspora. Yeh Mera Ghar (My Home), rounds out the selection with an intimate take on migration and its impact on families, set against the backdrop of Qatar’s transformation for the FIFA World Cup.

Pioneering Media-Tech Startups

In parallel, WAVEX highlights India’s surging media-tech sector. Four dynamic companies lead the charge:

Crewbella Ecosystem streamlines film production and distribution, empowering creators to access new markets and revenue streams.
Folktech Studios’ FolkLog app brings India’s vast folk heritage into the digital age, captivating young learners through immersive storytelling and animation.
Tuttifrutti Games crafts women-centric, mythologically-inspired games, aiming to build the “Pixar of Gaming” for a global audience.
Zangoh pioneers AI-powered localization, enabling content to reach audiences in over 100 languages, and offers advanced generative video creation and archival restoration.

Create in India Challenge: Celebrating Innovation

The Create in India Challenge recognizes bold new voices pushing the boundaries of storytelling:

Road to Jinji (Pathlight Animations), an animated historical epic, retraces the daring escape of Rajaram, son of Chhatrapati Shivaji, blending history, action, and patriotism in a visually stunning format.
The Dream Balloon (Toonz Media Group), is a magical adventure where a young boy embarks on a fantastical quest to return dreams stolen from his world—a celebration of hope and imagination for children everywhere.

Global Collaboration and Opportunity

WAVES Bazaar at Berlinale EFM 2026 serves as a launchpad for international partnerships—inviting sales, co-production, distribution, and investment across cinema, animation, gaming, and media-tech.

Whether it is the deeply human stories of India’s heartlands or the cutting-edge solutions powering the next generation of content, this curated showcase signals India’s readiness to inspire, innovate, and collaborate on the global stage.