Wench Film Festival, India’s first and only horror-fantasy film festival founded by Sapna Moti Bhavnani, returns with its sixth edition. The festival will screen 54 films, 33 directed by women, once again bringing the female perspective to the centre stage. The films will be shown under three different categories: ‘Blood Thirsty’, ‘Dwarves’ and ‘Elves’.
The festival will open with the Indian premiere of Ritesh Gupta’s ‘The Red Mask’, who will do a post-screening Q&A and close with ‘Fantasia’ winner ‘Mother of Flies’ by the Adams Family.
Bhavnani’s latest short film, ‘Landfills of Desire’, which had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2025, is set to have its Asia premiere at Wench Film Festival. A quiet, surreal and meditative horror short, the film was shot on Dal Lake in Kashmir with a Kashmiri folkloric figure, Rantas, as its elusive protagonist.
Marking a significant milestone, Wench is collaborating with the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) for the first time. The festival will be held from February 19-22 at SRFTI, Kolkata and from February 26 to March 1 at NFDC, Mumbai.
The visual and conceptual theme for Wench Film Festival 2026 is the hospital. Inspired by a member of the Wench team who experienced an exceptionally difficult year, followed by a serious leg injury and extended hospitalisation, the theme centres on the body reaching its limits.