Starring Naseeruddin Shah, Suvinder Vicky and Mita Vashisht, Rehmat is the only Indian film selected for this year’s festival

The film is based on the short stories of celebrated Punjabi writer Ajeet Cour and is Singh’s fifth feature and fourth feature adapted from Punjabi literature

Mumbai : National Award-winning filmmaker Gurvinder Singh’s latest feature, Rehmat, will have its World Premiere in the prestigious Concorso Internazionale (Main Competition) at the 79th Locarno Film Festival, to be held from 5–15 August 2026 in Locarno, Switzerland.Rehmat is the only Indian feature film selected for this year’s edition of one of the world’s oldest and most respected film festivals.

The film will compete for the festival’s highest honour, the Pardo d’Oro (Golden Leopard), which carries a cash award of CHF 75,000.Rehmat features an acclaimed ensemble led by Naseeruddin Shah, Suvinder Vicky, Mita Vashisht, Navjot Randhawa and Anita Meet, alongside newcomers Diya Kamboj, Harwinder Aujla and Jaswant Zafar. Based on the short stories of celebrated Punjabi writer Ajeet Cour, the film has been jointly produced by her daughter, eminent artist Arpana Caur and Gurvinder Singh Alongside the Main Competition, Rehmat has also been nominated for the Pardo for Change, a special award recognising films that engage with pressing environmental, ethical, social and cultural issues.

Selected from across the festival programme, thirteen feature films will compete for the honour, which carries a prize of CHF 20,000 for the winning director.Widely regarded as one of India’s most distinctive contemporary filmmakers, Gurvinder Singh’s earlier films include ‘Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan’, ‘Chauthi Koot’ and ‘Adh Chanani Raat’. His work has premiered at many of the world’s leading film festivals including Venice, Cannes, Busan and Rotterdam and cultural institutions across the world.

He is the winner of National Award for Best Director and twice for Best Punjabi Film. ‘Rehmat’ is his fourth Punjabi language feature.Speaking about the selection, Gurvinder Singh said, “The selection at Locarno reaffirms my faith that a certain kind of cinema still has relevance in this largely market-driven world with shrinking attention spans. Cinema remains a reflective and questioning space where meaning emerges not through spectacle but by quietly unfolding into the deeper layers of time, memory and tragedy, between continuity and change. I continue to believe that cinema, as a language, can transcend cultures, moving beyond knowledge and information into something more universal, humane and visceral.

To have this kind of work recognised and presented on such a prestigious international platform is both deeply encouraging and profoundly exciting.”SynopsisSet in present-day Punjab, Rehmat weaves together three interconnected stories. A woman secretly shelters a wounded stranger inside her home while his family grapples with grief and impossible choices. Elsewhere, a mysterious elderly man arrives in a village claiming to be God.

About the Director

An alumnus of FTII, Pune, Gurvinder Singh has emerged as one of India’s most distinctive auteur filmmakers. Between 2002 and 2006, he travelled extensively across Punjab documenting folk ballads and oral traditions. In 2005, he began a formative mentorship with legendary filmmaker Mani Kaul, later translating and publishing Uncloven Space, a book of conversations with Kaul.His debut feature, Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan (2011), premiered in the Orizzonti section at the Venice Film Festival before screening at Rotterdam, Busan and MoMA, New York, and winning three National Awards. His second feature, Chauthi Koot (2015), premiered in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival and won the National Award for Best Punjabi Film. His subsequent films include Bitter Chestnut (Busan, IFFR), Adh Chanani Raat (IFFR) and the documentary Trolley Times (MAMI, IFFR).

Selected Filmography

Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan (2011) – Venice Film Festival, OrizzontiChauthi Koot (2015) – Cannes Film Festival, Un Certain RegardBitter Chestnut (2019) – Busan International Film Festival, IFFRAdh Chanani Raat (2022) – International Film Festival RotterdamTrolley Times (2023) – MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, IFFRRehmat (2026) – Locarno Film Festival, Concorso Internazionale (Main Competition)