Assamese filmmaker Rima Das’s latest feature film Not a Hero has won the Best Indie Film Award at the 2026 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM). The film received the honour during its Australian premiere at the festival.
The award marks Das’s second Best Indie Film honour at IFFM. She previously won the category in 2019 for her acclaimed film Bulbul Can Sing.
Not a Hero follows an 11-year-old boy who is sent from the city to his ancestral village, where he befriends local children and adjusts to a new life surrounded by nature and rural traditions. The film explores childhood, freedom, imagination, and the bond between children and the natural world.
The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2026, where it earned a Crystal Bear Special Mention from the Children’s Jury.
The Melbourne recognition adds to the growing international acclaim for Das, whose work consistently brings Assamese cinema to major global film festivals.
Source: The Assam Tribune
