The Indian Short Film That Won 88 International Awards, Echoes of Us Now Set For Cannes and French Riviera

What does it take for an Indian short film to storm the world stage and land at Cannes? Apparently, it takes a grieving husband, a woman left unheard, and a story so emotionally devastating that 88 international juries could not look away.

"Echoes of Us" is not just a short film anymore. It is a full-blown global movement wrapped in approximately twenty minutes of cinema, and it is about to plant its flag at the most glamorous film festival on the planet. Directed by Joe Rajan and produced by actor-turned-producer Pooja Batra under her banner Glow Bell Inc. alongside Alliance Media Pty Ltd, this quietly powerful film has done what most feature films spend entire careers chasing. It has made the world stop and pay attention.

From Festival Circuit Favourite To Cannes Bound Sensation

The Indian Panorama International Film Festival will showcase "Echoes of Us" at the 79th Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2026, with a second featured screening locked in at the prestigious French Riviera International Film Festival on May 16, 2026. That is two major Cannes-adjacent platforms in the span of seventy-two hours, which is not a small thing for any film, let alone a short. Before this landmark moment, the film had already carved out an extraordinary path across the international festival circuit, accumulating over 88 laurels from juries across the world. Each award was not just a trophy. It was a verdict that this story deserved to be heard far and wide.

The Performances That Stopped 88 Juries In Their Tracks

At the beating heart of "Echoes of Us" is veteran actor Deepak Tijori, who plays a man unraveling in the aftermath of sudden loss. His performance has already earned him more than 12 Best Actor awards internationally, a number that speaks volumes about the kind of raw, aching work he has delivered here. Standing opposite him is Iulia Vantur, the celebrated singer making her acting debut in this film, and the reception has been nothing short of extraordinary. Vantur won the Dadasaheb Phalke Film Puraskar of India for Best Actress for this role, cementing a debut that most seasoned actors would envy. The film most recently made history at the South Asian International Film Festival in Florida, where it secured a triple win including Best Short Film and top acting honours for both leads. Director Joe Rajan also took home the Dadasaheb Phalke Film Puraskar of India for Best Director, adding yet another feather to a cap that now carries 12 international awards of its own.

The Song That Made An Already Emotional Film Hurt Even More

Every great film about grief needs a soundtrack that twists the knife just right, and "Echoes of Us" found exactly that in "Tere Sang." The track is a collaboration between Iulia Vantur and Arijit Singh, released under Salman Khan Films Music, and it does something very specific. It does not just accompany the story. It becomes an extension of it, filling the silences that the characters cannot bring themselves to speak into. The combination of Vantur's intimate vocal quality and Singh's effortless emotional depth created something that audiences have clearly connected with on a profound level.

What The Film Is Actually About And Why It Hits So Hard

"Echoes of Us" follows a man who loses his wife suddenly and then finds himself wandering through the physical and emotional ruins of everything they built together. As memory begins surfacing from the quiet, he is forced to face a truth far more complicated than grief alone. He must reckon with the love he took for granted, the moments he missed, and the voice of a woman who spent her life feeling unheard. It is the kind of story that does not shout. It whispers, and somehow the whisper carries further. With Deepak Tijori, Iulia Vantur, Joe Rajan, and Pooja Batra all set to walk the red carpet at Cannes, "Echoes of Us" arrives at the French Riviera not as a newcomer seeking validation but as a film that has already proven, 88 times over, that it belongs exactly where it is going.