The Echo Monastery has been awarded Best AI Film at the International Film Festival of Delhi (IFFD) 2026.

The recognition comes from a jury led by Shekhar Kapur, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, and Dr. Sujay Sen — a moment that carries meaning beyond the award itself.

The film is a collaboration between Bharat Arora and Rajesh Bhatia, a seasoned filmmaker and an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). The coming together of traditional cinematic sensibilities and emerging AI-driven tools shaped the language of the film in a unique way.

This was never approached as a technical experiment. The intent was to explore memory, silence, and emotional residue — using AI not as a novelty, but as a medium capable of holding atmosphere and stillness with nuance.

Winning at a platform like IFFD, organized by the Delhi Government, adds a certain weight to that exploration. It reflects a growing acceptance of new forms of storytelling, where technology supports the narrative rather than overshadowing it.

The Echo Monastery remains a quiet film. It doesn’t seek to explain everything. It allows space — for interpretation, for pause, for the viewer to sit with the image a little longer.

This recognition belongs as much to the process as it does to the outcome.

Grateful for the journey so far.

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Rajesh Bhatia & Bharat Arora