Indian film Laila Aur Satt Geet (The Shepherdess And The Seven Songs), directed by Pushpendra Singh, which was in Work-In-Progress Lab of Film Bazaar 2019, has been selected for the section ‘Encounters’, at Berlin International Film Festival.

The Berlin International Film Festival is just around the corner and the industry insiders and cine freaks from India are waiting for the event to happen, from February 20-March 1), with a bated breath. Reason? There is lot of Indian talent which is going to showcased at the international film extravaganza.

Indian film Laila Aur Satt Geet (The Shepherdess And The Seven Songs) directed by Pushpendra Singh has been selected to be featured in the event’s new competitive section Encounters, that will make its debut in 2020.

The section has been introduced to support new voices in cinema and give more room to diverse narrative and documentary forms, running alongside the long-established competition and Berlinale Shorts, which award the Golden and Silver Bears.

It may be noted that The Shepherdess And The Seven Songs was one of the selected projects in the Work-In-Progress Lab 2019 at Film Bazaar 2019, organised by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).

The Work-in-Progress Lab is open only for fiction features aiming for a theatrical release. The international editor assigned to the film guides the director and editor of the selected film through two sessions of the editing lab, which takes place at Film Bazaar itself.

Produced by Gulab Singh, Sanjay Gulati, Ajit Singh Rathore, The Shepherdess And The Seven Songs bagged the VKAAO Work In Progress lab award, which includes a certificate from niche distributor VKAAO and a free theatrical distribution deal with PVR Cinemas.

The film’s team, is no wonder, excited about the opportunity and is looking forward to make a mark at the international level. “Arthouse cinema seldom gets released to the normal public. Films are meant to be seen on the big screen. This is a wonderful opportunity,” said the film’s co-producer Sanjay Gulati.

For Pushpendra, who is a former student and current faculty member of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, this is not the first stint with the Berlin International Film Festival. His directorial debut feature, Lajwanti (The Honour Keeper) that released in 2014, was also premiered at the festival. Pushpendra’s second feature, Ashwatthama that was released in 2017, was premiered at the Busan International Film Festival in the New Currents Competition.

Pushpendra is also busy with his documentary, Pearl of the Desert (a recipient of Busan’s Asian Network of Documentary Fund), which tells about an extended family of low-caste Muslim musicians in the Thar Desert.