Shape of Momo film from Sikkimese filmmaker Tribeny Rai has won the Grand Jury Award in the New Directors Competition at the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), one of the most prestigious platforms for breakthrough international filmmaking — days before the film’s theatrical release across India and Nepal on 29 May 2026. The film was also shown at the Singapore International Film Festival.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

Where did the idea of the
film _‘_Shape of Momo’ come from?

Some of the experiences are that of my own and of the women around me. And the fact that, uh, you know, it has been shot in my village. Those things make it personal, but at the same time I think, plot-wise, definitely when we were writing the screenplay, which I wrote with my co-writer, we have taken inspiration from the experiences around us. The whole film is not my own personal, but a lot of it is influenced from personal experiences.

Which character do you relate to the most?

I definitely relate more to Bishnu, but I also relate to Junu as well. I have also met people who have watched the film and can relate to the characters in several ways. The best thing about the film is that, you always have something to take away from each character.

It was shown at the Singapore International Film Festival. What do you think about India, where India stands in terms of cinema in the global scenario, especially in festivals?

I think Payal Kapadia has opened the doors for us. ‘All We Imagine as Light’ had already won in Cannes and had released everywhere possible, you know, on the earth. So, whenever we were traveling with our films, we know that All We Imagine as Light and Girls Will Be Girls were already part of international film festivals. It’s a great time to make films especially as a woman filmmaker we are getting a lot of opportunities. And also, to have Payal as one of our executive producers, we are so grateful. She has lent her voice, uh, to our project and is championing it.

Why is the movie named ‘Shape of Momo’?

The word momo immediately roots our film to a Himalayan or Nepali cultural world, you know. So that was one of the main reasons behind the name. The other reason was, you know, when you talk about shape, it becomes symbolic of how women are expected to fit into social and domestic roles. And, our main protagonist, Bishnu, does not know how to make a properly shaped momo. So, this indifference towards making a perfectly shaped momo, reflects a resistance. This resistance is the reflection of the writer and the filmmaker.

What is the thought process that went behind making the film including the selection of the cast?

Sikkim’s film industry is in a very nascent stage, the whole Nepali-Indian market is just beginning to open up. So, it was very important for me to find people who looked like me, because growing up, I never had that opportunity to see someone like me on the screen and find that representation. So I, I thought it’s high time that we cast our own people and tell our own stories.

Having said that, I tried to show the main protagonist is from Nepal and the mother that plays in the film is also from Nepal. And the other actors, the sister, the love interest, are from Sikkim and Darjeeling.

The experiences that I have put in the film are actually the experiences that every other woman or person has had in our culture and our region. The actors brought their own experiences and definitely they resonated with the story that we were telling. So that really helped.

This year at Cannes, there’s a very poor representation of Indian cinema. One is actually a restoration out of it. Is the character of representation of movies in the Cannes Film Festival changing? What is it like?

When All We Imagine went to Cannes and won, it had been 30 years, you know. After 30 years, an Indian film went and won in Cannes. It is very difficult to crack in festivals like that, first of all, because a lot depends on European funding and grants, you know, which we do not have easy access to. So, it’s just a matter of time. I think, and next year hopefully, we will have some great number of films.