Tasveer Film Fund 2025 winners: four filmmakers to receive an award of  $35,000 each

Seattle-based non-profit organisation Tasveer, known for promoting social justice and community building through South Asian arts, primarily film, recently announced the four winners of the 2025 Tasveer Film Fund (TFF), with longstanding support from Netflix.

Now in its sixth year, the Tasveer Film Fund continues to support groundbreaking original, narrative short films that center around the perspective of untold South Asian stories. Each winning filmmaker will receive a $35,000 production grant and year-long mentorship, supporting their journey from script to screen. 

“These filmmakers are telling stories that are fearless, intimate, and deeply human. With Netflix’s unwavering support, we’re helping amplify the future of storytelling,” said Tasveer co-founder and executive director Rita Meher.

The winners of Tasveer Film Fund 2025 are:

Rising Tide by Andrea Drepaul- When a pregnant Indo-Guyanese Canadian woman is faced with her long-absent father, the confrontation leads to consequences both physical and metaphysical.

Mother Tongue by Kavita Parekh- When Alzheimer’s sufferer Amanat loses her grasp of English, her daughter Meera struggles to care for her in Punjabi- and faces losing the closest relationship in her life.

Petticoat by Priyanka Shailendra- After unraveling in front of her entire family, a young South Asian woman makes a disturbing bid for self-reclamation by pinning her sari into her own flesh.

Wellness by Gayatri Everitt Bajpai- When two sisters crash a silent retreat to serve their father divorce papers, they find themselves at odds with his newfound serenity- and with one another.

The Tasveer Film Fund jurors included leading media production executives: Madoxy Media executive producer Bilal Sami; Ramfis Productions founder Ramfis Myrthil; Chicken & Egg Pictures board president Nekissa Cooper; Meralta Films founder Smriti Mundhra and; actor  & Tasveer Film Market associate director Anushree Shukla. Founded by Meher, the Film Fund is managed by Uzma Khan and Shukla.

Past recipients have premiered at global film festivals and secured distribution deals. The 2025 winning films will premiere at the Tasveer Film Festival in Seattle in October 2026.