Rima Das's Not a Hero Wins Best Indie Film at Melbourne

GUWAHATI, August 15, 2026 — Assam filmmaker Rima Das's latest feature, Not a Hero, has won the Best Indie Film Award at the 2026 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), adding another international honour to the film's growing festival journey.

The award came as Not a Hero made its Australian premiere at the 17th edition of the festival, which opened in Melbourne on August 13. The win is Das's second Best Indie Film honour at IFFM; she previously won the same award in 2019 for Bulbul Can Sing.

The Melbourne recognition follows the film's world premiere at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival in February, where it was screened in the Generation Kplus section and received a Special Mention from the Generation Youth Jury.

Not a Hero was also among the IFFM nominees, with Das nominated for Best Director and lead actor Bhuman Bhargav Das nominated in the Best Performance (Male) category.

The film follows 11-year-old Mivan, who is sent from the city to live in his ancestral village. The unfamiliar rural world gradually changes him as he forms friendships and discovers a different sense of belonging. The festival describes the film as a coming-of-age story moving between city life and a rural Assamese village.

Written, directed and edited by Das, Not a Hero features Bhuman Bhargav Das, Sukanya Boruah and Mrinmoy Das. The film is an India-Singapore production.

The latest award continues Rima Das's long international journey with films rooted in Assam. Her earlier works, including Village Rockstars, Bulbul Can Sing and Village Rockstars 2, have travelled to major international festivals, helping bring stories from the region to a wider global audience.

For Not a Hero, the journey from Berlin to Melbourne has now brought another major recognition for independent filmmaking from Assam.