In the era of commercial cinema, independent filmmakers face immense struggle and challenges. New filmmakers often have beautiful stories but lack the resources to bring those stories to people through film. But where there’s passion, even obstacles find their way to the destination.
One such film is _Kathakar Ki Diary_, made with immense struggle by Pune’s GST Additional Commissioner Anwesh. Without resources, he brought together nearly 200 artists and technicians from Maharashtra, Odisha, and Jharkhand — all of whom worked without fees — to create this independent film. A few brilliant technicians from FTII Pune also joined the project including DI artist late Krishna.
This low-budget indie film _Kathakar Ki Diary_ has been selected at many prestigious national and international film festivals, and the journey continues. Now the film has been officially selected for the 17th AL ESTE – San Marcos 2026. The crowdfunded film Kathakar Ki Diary will screen in 4 countries across Peru, Colombia, Argentina, and France from June 18 to 28, 2026.
_Kathakar Ki Diary: The Story of Ordinary Lives_ is not one story but five, each a pulse in the body of marginalized India: a cancer-stricken photographer racing against a ticking clock to capture the world; a transwoman, portrayed by Yogesh Jadhav, whose pride and resilience have already moved activists and audiences to tears; a musician, played by Kapil Bhagwat, whose journey mirrors Anwesh’s own roots in the performing arts; a tribal athlete fighting for excellence in the remote hills of Jharkhand and Odisha, embodied by Daniel; and a toddler potrayed exceptionally by Baby Aarohi Chatterjee, whose innocence punctures the frame.
Founded in 2008 as a bridge between Lima and Central and Eastern Europe, _AL ESTE_ spent fifteen years teaching Peruvian and Latin American audiences to read the world through Romanian silences, Hungarian light, and Polish dread. Since 2023, the bridge has widened. The festival now projects Latin American and Asian voices outward, with yearly editions in Colombia, Argentina, and France apart from Peru.
This year AL ESTE entered a new chapter making an alliance with the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the National University of San Marcos — the oldest university in the Americas — reframing the festival as a public act with the theme of
this year’s festival being – Monsters, the Impossible Beasts.
In 2025, monsters return to our screens — Jude and Besson’s Draculas, del Toro’s _Frankenstein_ — because institutional collapse speaks through them, the core question of the 17th _AL ESTE_ – San Marcos International Film Festival.
AL ESTE has built its name on “risk-taking” cinema — auteur-driven and experimental. By selecting _Kathakar Ki Diary_, it spotlights the radical beauty of the ordinary.
Kathakar Ki Diary (The Story of Ordinary Lives) has received appreciation for its unique storytelling from legendary Bollywood actor Shatrughan Sinha, director Sai Kabir, director Sejal Shah, and many other Bollywood celebrities.
Director Anwesh who is currently posted in pune GST Department as additional Commissioner says ” we made a humble attempt , cinema and public service go hand in hand, the journey has just begun”.
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