Assam filmmaker Rima Das has added another international honour to her record, with her latest feature film Not a Hero winning the Best Indie Film Award at the 2026 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.
The award was announced during the festival, where Not a Hero also marked its Australian premiere. This is the second time Das has received the honour, after previously winning the same award in 2019 for Bulbul Can Sing.
Das has maintained a strong association with the Melbourne festival, with all five of her feature films having been screened there. She also contributed as a director to the anthology My Melbourne.
Not a Hero made its global debut at the Berlin International Film Festival in February this year. The film was selected for the Generation Kplus Competition and went on to receive a Crystal Bear Special Mention from the festival’s Children’s Jury.
The film centres on an 11-year-old boy who is sent from the city to his ancestral village. His stay there introduces him to a distant aunt, a horse that becomes his companion and a group of village children with whom he embarks on a series of adventures.
Through the child’s experiences, the film explores themes of freedom, imagination, childhood discovery and the bond between young people and the natural world.
Reacting to the recognition, Das described receiving the same award again as “extremely special”, recalling her 2019 win for Bulbul Can Sing. She also highlighted the importance of the Melbourne festival in her journey as a filmmaker.
The film has been produced by Flying River Films in association with Akanga Film Asia and TrainTripper Films. Paris-based MMM Sales is handling worldwide sales for the project.
A two-time National Award-winning filmmaker, Das has built a reputation for stories centred on childhood, identity, growing up and the relationship between humans and nature. She joined the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2024.
