Film Poster – Sanju Surendran

If on a winter’s night

about the film

With a new job at a film festival and a modest apartment, Sarah begins a happy life in Delhi with her beloved Abhi, an artist preparing for his first solo exhibition.

Apart from their heavily prejudiced landlord obsessed with electric bills, and Sarah’s mother constantly calling to demand tuition money for her younger brother, life seems generally peaceful. That is, until Abhi, in his effort to mount his exhibition, puts into it the money meant for Sarah’s family.

In this unwelcoming city hostile to outsiders and daughters, Sarah and Abhi — misunderstood even by their parents — are lucky to have the easygoing Simon, the warm and spirited Gopika, and music. Simon broke up with his lover for lack of even one cozy room for them to stay; Sarah and Abhi face the threat of spending cold, rainy winter nights on the streets; and Gopika has lost her spiritual home. All of them, for different reasons, are living through a season of homelessness.

film trailer

director note

This film is a love letter to the unseen Delhi, a city of contrasts and chaos. Through the eyes of Sarah and Abhi, a young couple from Kerala, we experience the city’s kaleidoscope of cultures, languages, and tensions. The film is a celebration of the human spirit’s resilience in the face of adversity. As Sarah, Abhi, and their unlikely companions navigate the city’s challenges, they discover hidden depths within themselves and each other. The film is a story of conflict and resolution, of humanity connecting in unexpected ways. Through dynamic camerawork and a pulsating soundscape, we immerse ourselves in Delhi’s rhythm, ultimately finding hope and connection in its vast, unpredictable landscape.

Director other achievement in short

Sanju Surendran, an Indian film maker is an alumni of Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. At the Institute he picked his lessons from the legendary film maker Mani Kaul. His documentary on Kutiyattam, Kapila won the National award for the best documentary and Special Mention at Visions du Reel, Switzerland. Sanju’s first feature film, Aedan- Garden of Desire won the Rajathachakoram award for the best debut director and the FIPRESCI award for the best Malayalam film and four Kerala State Film Awards.

in media

30th BUSAN International Film Festival

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team ( cast and crew )

Director

Sanju Surendran

Executive Producer

Payal Kapadia

Payal Kapadia is a Mumbai based filmmaker. Winning the Grand Prix at the Festival de Cannes 2024 with All We Imagine as Light, Payal Kapadia makes a triumphant entry with her first feature film. This ode to friendship and Mumbai, on which she worked during her stay at La Résidence de La Cinéfondation in 2019, helped bring India back into the Festival de Cannes Competition after a thirty-year absence. The film has continued its run to the Golden Globes 2025 (nominations for Best Director and Best Foreign Language Film) and won numerous awards, including Best Film Prize at the Asian Film Awards 2025 in Hong Kong. She studied Film Direction at the Film & Television Institute of India. Her short films Afternoon Clouds and And What Is The Summer Saying premiered respectively at the Cinéfondation and the Berlinale. Her first feature film A Night of Knowing Nothing premiered at 2021 Director’s Fortnight, where it won the Golden Eye for best documentary.

Screenplay

Rekha Raj

Dr. Rekha Raj is a Dalit feminist scholar- activist from Kerala, with over two decades of experience shaping intersectional praxis and theory around Dalit women’s political interventions and lived experiences. She is currently a recipient of the Kerala Chief Minister’s Nava Kerala Postdoctoral Fellowship. Dr. Raj will draw on her formative role in Kerala’s Dalit feminist and queer movements— as an early or founding member of organizations including the Panchami Dalit Women’s Collective, the Kerala Queer Pride March collective, and Sahayatrika, a community organization for queer and trans people assigned female at birth. She has delivered lectures at prestigious institutions in India.

Cinematographer

Manesh Madhavan

Manesh Madhavan is a cinematographer who graduated from the prestigious Film & Television Institute of India (FTII Pune). He primarily works in the South Indian film industry and Bollywood. Manesh has numerous films to his credit in Malayalam, Hindi, Bengali and more. He won the Kerala State Film Award in 2017 for 'Aedan: Garden of Desire' and again in 2022 for 'Ela Veezha Poonchira' for Best Cinematography. Many of his works have gained international acclaim and have been chosen as India's submissions to major international film festivals in Venice, Cannes, and Berlin. He is also an alumnus of the Berlinale Talent Campus at the 58th Berlin International Film Festival in 2008.

Film Editor

Praveen Mangalath

Praveen Mangalath, a distinguished alumnus of the Film & Television Institute of India (FTII Pune), has lent his editing expertise to a wide array of award-winning films, short films, documentaries, and music videos. He launched his career in Bollywood with Aamir Khan Productions’ Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, followed by an illustrious stint in the television industry as Senior Promo Producer at TEN Sports, before making his mark across multiple South Indian film industries.

Production Designer

Dileep Daz

Dileep Daz began his career in 2002 as an advertising professional, working with some of the leading advertising agencies in India for over 12 years. He transitioned into the film industry by creating impactful publicity designs, with his posters being showcased at major film festivals worldwide, including Venice, Tallinn, Shanghai, Moscow, Rotterdam, and more. In recent years, Dileep has shifted his focus to production design, becoming one of the most sought-after production designers in Indian parallel cinema. His distinctive approach to visual storytelling has made him a favorite among filmmakers who seek to blend artistic expression with cinematic realism. His notable works as a production designer include Invisible Windows (Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival), Trees Under the Sun (Shanghai International Film Festival), Chola (Venice International Film Festival), and Kayattam (Busan International Film Festival), among others.

Sound Design

Godly Timo Koshy

Godly Timo Koshy, holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Sound Recording and Design from FTII, Pune. He has over 18 years of experience in films, television, documentaries, and advertising, with award-winning projects that have received international recognition and worldwide distribution.

Sync Sound

Sanju Augustine

Sanju Augustine is a Sound Engineer trained at the K.R. Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts, Kottayam. He has worked on projects such as If on a Winter’s Night, Madithattu, and Thettipoo Samithi as a Production Sound Recordist and Sound Designer. His work on Thettipoo Samithi earned him the Best Sound Design award at the Cochin Short Film Fest.

Project Designer

Jibu Thomas

Jibu Thomas, with a Master’s in International Relations, has over 20 years of experience in civil society, focusing on climate change and gender justice. He founded film festivals and served as Executive Producer at Raintree Films. Currently, he leads operations at Cloud Door Films.

Costume Designer

Leena Thushara

Leena Thushara is a creative and detail-oriented professional with a B.Sc. in Costume & Fashion Designing (2018–2021) and growing experience across film and advertising industries. Her portfolio includes acclaimed advertising projects for brands such as Pothys Kerala, Elanadu Ice Cream, Zee Kerala, NTC Finance, Valath Jewellery, and Xylem, as well as the short film Thalasophiles (dir. Shelly J Bella) and the feature film 'If on a winter’s night' (dir. Sanju Surendran).

Music

Subramanian K V

Alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, with 7 years of active experience in the film industry. Has worked as a Sound Designer, Sound Editor and music composer for feature-length films in Malayalam, Sri Lanka-Tamil and Telugu. Recipient of the Kerala State Television Award for ‘Chaver’ (Music Direction) and other awards.

Associate Producer

Pramod Sankar T

Pramod Sankar T is a film producer based in Kochi, India. With a background in economics and an early career in the seafood export industry, he transitioned into media in 2008, bringing organizational and analytical expertise to filmmaking. He first led Collective Phase One Studios, a creative hub founded in 2011 that fostered collaboration among filmmakers and artists. He now produces under his banner Cloud Door Films, focusing on Malayalam cinema with an emphasis on development, financing, production, and post-production.

Art Director

Fyodor Sam Brook

Fyodor Sam Brook is a freelance art director and cinematographer working across films, documentaries, music videos, and theatre productions. His selected works include Khidki Gaav and Aedan by Sanju Surendran, Veyil Marangal, Sthalam, and Invisible Windows by Dr. Biju, and the Netflix docu-series Curry & Cyanide: The Jolly Joseph Case by Christo Tomy. Known for blending art direction and cinematography with a strong visual sensibility, he brings a distinctive style to contemporary storytelling on both stage and screen.

Colourist

Ethan Park

Ethan Park studied film editing at Dongguk University in Korea, where an early passion for post-production led him to work as a field editor during his studies. In 2006, at the Busan International Film Festival, he connected with Hollywood Film Recorder (HFR), which had recently introduced DI services in Korea. Joining as an assistant colourist and DCP mastering technician, he quickly gained experience, contributing to nearly 40 Korean films across systems including Baselight FOUR before moving to China in 2009. Since then, he has built a career as a colourist specializing in art house and genre cinema, where distinctive visual styles make grading particularly rewarding. His collaborations include acclaimed works by China’s Sixth Generation filmmakers, such as Zhang Yuan’s Beijing Flickers, Wang Xiaoshuai’s Chongqing Blues, Lou Ye’s Tui Na, and Li Yu’s Buddha Mountain and Double Xposure.