Indian animator Suchana Saha has been shortlisted for the 2026 Asian Short Film Fund (ASFF) with her project How to Eat Tomatoes, making it the only Indian project among this year's 10 shortlisted titles.
Jointly launched by HKIFF Industry, under the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (HKIFFS), and NOWNESS ASIA, the fund supports emerging short film projects from across Asia. This year's edition attracted submissions from 47 countries and regions spanning Asia, Europe, the Americas and Oceania.
The shortlisted projects will participate in an online pitching session later this month, following which a jury will select three winners. Each winning project will receive up to USD 35,000 in production funding, along with mentorship from acclaimed Asian filmmakers Lav Diaz, Oh Jung-wan and Yeh Ju-feng through script development, production and international distribution. The winners will be announced in late August.
Saha is among India's leading contemporary animation filmmakers. A graduate of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), she has collaborated with filmmakers including Amit Dutta, Mohandas Dylan Gray and Soumya Shankar Bose.
Her previous animated short Priyo Ami screened at major international festivals including Busan, Annecy, Rotterdam and Animafest Zagreb, and was longlisted for the BAFTA Awards 2023. Her earlier short Maa Tuki screened at more than 50 festivals worldwide and won 13 awards. In 2021, she was recognised among the 75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting at IFFI.
The remaining shortlisted projects come from Mainland China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey-Afghanistan and Singapore, reflecting the fund's growing geographical reach across Asia.
