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Cinema

Secret of a Mountain Serpent

Biennale College Cinema
Director:
Nidhi Saxena
Production:
Forest Flower Films (Vimukthi Jayasundara)
Running Time:
108’
Language:
Hindi
Country:
India, Sri Lanka
Main Cast:
Trimala Adhikari, Adil Hussain, Pushpendra Singh, Richa Meena, Aaradhya Mehta, Rashmi Kandpal, Paru Upreti, Heeraballabh Kandpal
Screenplay:
Nidhi Saxena
Cinematographer:
Vikas Urs
Editor:
Saman Alvitigala
Production Designer:
Avni Goyal
Costume Designer:
Avni Goyal
Music:
Nishant Ramteke
Sound:
Neeraj Gera
Visual Effects:
Pratik Umale

Synopsis

Set in a remote Himalayan town during the Kargil War, Secret of a Mountain Serpent tells the intimate story of Barkha, a schoolteacher whose husband is away at the border. In a place where most men are gone and the days echo with silence, Barkha finds herself drawn to Manik Guho, a mysterious outsider who disrupts the fragile balance of waiting, restraint, and myth. As his presence reawakens long- buried yearnings — in Barkha and the other women of the village — a whispered local folklore comes alive: a serpent that lives in the forbidden river, still waiting after a thousand years for the promise of love unkept. This is a poetic exploration of desire and freedom, where myth and memory blur, inviting both women and men into a deeply sensual, haunting journey through love, longing, and transformation.

Director’s Statement

I wanted to explore the desires that women carry silently — desires that may not break into escape, but pulse beneath the skin. Secret of a Mountain Serpent is a story that speaks not just to women but to anyone who has ever lived between duty and longing. It asks: Can you belong to someone, and still belong to yourself? Using nature, folklore, and emotion as storytelling tools, I have shaped a world in which desire itself becomes a mythic force — a serpent of transformation that can never be captured or silenced.

PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION

PRODUCTION:
Forest Flower Films - Vimukthi Jayasundara
222, Patrakar Colony
302020 Jaipur, India
Tel: +91 9460144678 / +91 7728076121 / +94 777578432
E-mail: producer@forestflowerfilms.com
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560437582794 - Facebook

WORLD SALES:
The Open Reel
Cosimo Santoro
open@theopenreel.com
Tel. +39 3404940351

PRESS OFFICE:
La Biennale di Venezia
Ca' Giustinian, San Marco, 1364/a
30124 Venezia, Italia
Tel: +39 041 2726 644
E-mail: presscinema@labiennale.org; college-cinema@labiennale.org;

Rahul Saxena - Forest Flower Films
222, Patrakar Colony
302020 Jaipur, India
Tel: +91 9460144678
E-mail: rahul@forestflowerfilms.com

INTERNATIONAL PRESS OFFICE:
MADAVENUE PR
Eva Herrero
E-mail: eva@madavenue.es
Tel: +34 649 70 68 07

Luca Di Leonardo
Tel: +34 693 689 563
E-mail: lucadileonardopr@gmail.com

Violeta Cussac
E-mail: violeta@madavenue.es
Tel: +34 609 85 01 79


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Biennale Cinema
Biennale Cinema