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Exclusive: Wscripted has unveiled its fifth Cannes Screenplay List, in partnership with global streamer and distributor Mubi.

The 2025 list showcases projects from 14 female and non-binary filmmakers and screenwriters seeking producing and financing partners. (scroll down for full list).

Among the nominees is Emmy-nominated Kenyan American filmmaker Peres Owino, who co-wrote Netflix’s African Queens – Njinga and Queen Cleopatra, and is now developing feature film The Basket Weaver, from her own original screenplay.

The list also features New York writer, comedian, and singer-songwriter Liz Nico and L.A.-based trans writer, director and artist Jules Byrne, whose debut feature Summer of 69 premiered at this year’s SXSW as a Hulu original film. The pair are collaborating on rom-com feature Jane Hates Miranda.

Further nominees include Filipina American actor, filmmaker, and Sundance fellow Kristine Gerolaga, with horror feature Lamok.

Spearheaded by Wscripted’s founder and CEO Ellie Jamen, Wscripted’s Cannes...

In a new edition of This Day That Year, Subhash K Jha revisits Albert Pinto Ko Kyon Gussa Aata Hai… and no, it is not the one you think. This Albert Pinto Ko Kyon Gussa Aata Hai?, released in 2019 and starred Manav Kaul, Nandita Das, and Saurabh Shukla.

Apart from the seething fury directed at a social structure that victimizes and crushes the underdog and raging anger at Capitalism, this new Albert Pinto, played by Manav Kaul, and the earlier iconic Pinto, played by Naseeruddin Shah, have nothing in common.

Saeed Mirza’s 1980 classic gets a nodding homage in this completely refurbished take on societal prejudices and an individual’s resentment against a system of governance and economy that encourages monstrous disparity. While Mirza’s film swathed Naseer’s implosive rage in reams of anchored anger and sublimated satire, Manav Kaul’s anger and bitterness is uneven and spasmodic… it...

Subhash K Jha revisits Mirza Juuliet with star Darshan Kumar as it hits eight years since it released in theatres.

More than midway into the turbulent take on the destiny of star-crossed lovers on the run, the Uttar Pradesh ki Juliet, aka Julie, who has been raped by her sexed-up finance, is told by her father-like elder brother to calm down.

“I shouldn’t be saying this. But my sister, you are so pretty. Any man would get carried away,” giggles Bade Bhaiyya Priyanshu Chatterjee anxiously, unwilling to break an alliance that means huge political gains for him and his family.

This is normal procedure in a section of the Cow Belt. Make the daughter a sacrificial cow for your personal gains. And when she shows more spirit than that bottle on the table, kill her. Family honour, you know.

This is one of the more disturbing moments in the...

Exclusive: Ryan Sidhoo’s documentary The Track has lined up its next two festival appearances – and they’re major.

The film, about aspiring Bosnian Olympic lugers who train on a track in Sarajevo damaged during the war in the former Yugoslavia, will screen at the San Francisco International Film Festival on Wednesday, April 23.

“Sarajevo’s luge track, built for the 1984 Winter Games, is now a bullet-holed, graffitied tourist attraction,” Bedatri Choudhury writes in the Sffilm program. “But where outsiders see war-scarred history, luge coach Senad Omanović and his team see possibilities for a brighter future.”

After San Francisco, the film zips to Hot Docs in Toronto, where it is set to screen on Sunday, April 27 and Wednesday, April 30.

Coach Senad Omanović repairs a section of the Sarajevo luge run in ‘The Track’

“For young Olympic hopefuls Hamza, Zlatan and Mirza, however, the track is more than a relic—it’s their training ground,...

Set to release on March 14th is Avinash Das’ outstanding Inn Galiyon Mein, starring Vivaan Shah and Avantika Dassani.

Set in the heart of Lucknow, Inn Galiyon Mein unfolds in a narrow lane where two communities have lived in harmony for generations, sharing festivals, joys, and sorrows. But in today’s age, social media, political agendas, and religious divisions threaten this fragile peace.

Amidst this turmoil, neighbors Shabbo and Hariya—one Muslim, the other Hindu—are played with vivacious charm by Vivaan Shah and Avantika Dassani. They harbor a love they dare not express, fearing the consequences of an increasingly intolerant world.

Overlooking their lives is Mirza’s tea stall, a place where both communities gather, united in conversation. A poet at heart and a believer in secularism, Mirza, played by Javed Jaffrey, stands as a bridge between love and discord, even as the tides of politics demand his sacrifice.

Anime fans love engaging with the community by advocating for their favorite couples to get together. This is especially true for series with huge casts like Fairy Tail. With so many colorful characters who have distinct personalities, fans like to let their imaginations run wild with all the wholesome relationship possibilities.

Further adding fuel to the fire, series author Hiro Mashima likes to release artwork depicting his favorite couples in ways the anime or manga has yet to show. For Fairy Tail, the most popular ships among fans tend to be the most possible, with many of them already being hinted at or outright confirmed. Though not all started out on the strongest foundations, the most popular ships in the series have made great progress into becoming the most wholesome as well.

Gray & Juvia's Relationship Has Grown Much Healthier Gruvia Remains a Fan-Favorite Ship

Mention shipping to any Fairy Tail fan,...

“The Queen of My Dreams” has been on its way to the big screen for more than ten years. Though not originally planned as a feature, writer and director Fawzia Mirza originally saw the story through life as both a short film and a stage play, based on her own experiences as a queer Pakistani-Canadian woman. The title is a literal translation of “Meri Sapno Ki Rani,” the wildly popular Hindi song from 1969’s “Aradhana.”

The film opens with narration from Azra (Amrit Kaur), Mirza’s self-insert, who has a complicated relationship with mother Mariam (Nimra Bucha) — but the two share an uncomplicated, undying love for the movie “Aradhana” starring Sharmila Tagore and Rajesh Khanna. When Azra’s father Hassan (Hamza Haq) suffers a fatal heart attack, Azra must join the family in Pakistan to mourn his passing — and salvage a rocky relationship with the only parent she has left.

It is the feature directorial debut from Fawzia Mirza.

LevelK has boarded international sales for the Canadian/Pakistani dramedy The Queen Of My Dreams, which will have its world premiere in Toronto’s Discovery section. Signature Move’s Fawzia Mirza writes and directs.

Azra, a Pakistani woman living in Toronto, is worlds apart from her conservative Muslim mother. When her father suddenly dies on a trip home to Pakistan, Azra finds herself on a Bollywood-inspired journey through memories, both real and imagined, from her mother’s youth in Karachi to her own coming-of-age in rural Canada.

Amrit Kaur from HBO...

A tale of love, Mirzya, which hits theaters Friday, explores the tragic folktale of Mirza and Sahiban both in the world of folklore and in modern Rajasthan in 2016. The story, presented in a very unique way, weaves in and out of the love of Mirza-Sahiban of the folk tale and the characters of today. This ageless epic is directed by the BAFTA Awards nominee & 3-time National Award recipient Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and is brought to life in the words of famed poet and lyricist Dadasaheb Phalke recipient and Oscar winner – Gulzar. Introducing Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher, along with Anuj Chaudhary and Anjali Patil, this untold love story of estranged soul mates also stars Om Puri, Art Malik, and K. K. Raina.

In our recent interview, director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra revealed, among many other things, that this film is a musical. To create the music for his story of Mirzya,...

By Stacey Yount and Aashi Gahlot

According to director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, his upcoming epic Mirzya is three films in one. It is the modern retelling of the Punjabi folk tale Mirza-Sahiban, as well as a classic and unique presentation of the traditional story and one more element that brings it all together that we will find out when the film hits theaters on October 7th. The film introduces Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher, along with Anuj Chaudhary, all of who make their debut into the world of cinema in this untold love story of estranged soul mates. Also part of the epic story of love are the brilliant Om Puri, Art Malik, K. K. Raina as well as Anjali Patil.

The story is brought to life in the words of esteemed poet and lyricist Gulzar. For the musical story of the film, Mehra once again worked with the incredible trio of Shankar Mahadevan,...