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Shape of Momo

Chhora Jastai
dir. Tribeny Rai
India, Nepal, South Korea 2025, 114’
subtitles: Polish and English

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Polish premiere
Theatrical Screenings
We 11 Nov, 17:15
Kinoteka 4
Kinoteka 4
Sa 14 Nov, 13:00
Kinoteka 3
Kinoteka 3
Film also presented during the festival showcase in Poznań (19–22.11)
Online Availability
10 Nov, 10:00 – 6 Dec
Additional Materials
Awards and festivals
World premiere: Busan International Film Festival 2025 Busan IFF 2025 - Songwon Vision Award, Taipei Film Commission Award Kolkata IFF 2025 - Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for Best Film (Indian Languages Competition) Seattle IFF 2026 - New Directors Competition Grand Jury Prize
Credits
India, Nepal, South Korea 2025
Duration: 114’
director: Tribeny Rai
screenplay: Kislay, Tribeny Rai
cinematography: Archana Ghangrekar
editing: Anil Aalayam, Kislay
music: Mikhail Marak
sound: Akita Purkayastha
cast: Gaumaya Gurung, Pashupati Rai, Shyamashree Sherpa, Bishnu Maya Rai, Rahul Mukhia
producer: Geeta Rai, Kislay
executive producer: Mike Goodridge
production: Dalley Khorsani Productions, Kathkala Films
language: Nepali
colouration: colour

Film description

No other culture holds quite as ambivalent an attitude towards womanhood as Hindu culture. On the one hand, a woman is seen as the incarnation of shakti – divine energy – and the personification of the Great Goddess; on the other, she remains entirely subordinate to men. A woman is expected to be like a momo dumpling: beautifully formed with a neatly contained filling. Just as dough can be shaped at will, society seeks to mould women according to a strict blueprint – one set by the archetypes of goddesses and epic heroines, with Sita at the forefront. Meanwhile, Bishnu returns from Delhi to her family home in Sikkim, nestled at the foot of the Himalayas. Reentering a household of women, she brings with her a metropolitan rebellion against the patriarchal norms that remain firmly entrenched in the provinces. She is determined to break a multi-generational streak of women who meekly surrendered to tradition, raised to believe that giving birth to a girl was the result of a curse.

In her feature directorial debut, Tribeny Rai paints a male-dominated world where women must constantly negotiate the boundaries of their own freedom and independence. It is an environment as harsh as the Himalayan landscape Bishnu's family inhabits – where the breathtaking beauty of the surrounding mountains inspires awe, yet simultaneously breeds a suffocating sense of isolation, both literal and metaphorical.

text:
Blanka K. Dżugaj

Tribeny Rai

Tribeni Rai initially dreamed of pursuing a career in journalism before becoming an independent director and screenwriter. She hails from Sikkim, a state in north-eastern India, and completed her studies in film direction and screenwriting at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Kolkata, West Bengal – one of India's premier national film schools. Her work focuses primarily on female experiences and life in the Eastern Himalayan region.

Filmography:

2015 Yathawat / As It Is (short)

2025 Kształt momo / Chhora Jesto / Shape of Momo

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