Bali

Amoli Birewar / Short Documentary / India / Marathi / 29:45 / 2025

In a small village in Maharashtra, a young girl from the Banjara tribe is inspired by movies to become a kabaddi player. But as her school years come to an end, she is pressured into marriage, like generations of women before her. A district-level tournament becomes her last chance to change her future. As she steps onto the Kabaddi court, Sujata slips into a Bollywood-tinted dream, momentarily becoming the hero of her own story. ‘Bali’ is a bittersweet portrait of growing up as a girl in rural India. In a culture where grief and pain are rarely articulated, the film explores how young girls cope with hardship through humour, escapism, and quiet resilience.

Cast and Crew  
Director: Amoli Birewar
Producer: Aparna Sanyal, Rajiv Mehrotra
DoP: Rusha Bose, Riddhi Goenka
Editor: Pranav Patil
Sound Designer & Mixer: Himang Pali
Music Composer: Rohit Singh
Colorist: Prithvi Buddhavarapu
Cast: Sujata Rathod

Directors’ bio:

Amoli Birewar is a Mumbai-based documentary filmmaker who has developed and produced a range of non-fiction projects for global broadcast networks. Her debut short documentary, Bali, received the PSBT Doc Commune Grant (2024–25) and has screened at leading international film festivals, winning several awards.

Participation in other Festivals:

  • International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) – Short Documentary Competition Category: Received Special Jury Mention
  • International Documentary Film Festival “Flahertiana” – International Competition: Received Special Jury Mention
  • DokuBaku International Documentary Film Festival – DokuKids Category: Received DokuKids Special Mention Award
  • Tasveer Film Festival: Best Short Film Jury Award
  • International Film Festival of South Asia (IFFSA) – Kaleidoscope III
  • Saratov Sufferings Documentary Drama Film Festival
  • Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF)
  • Rome International Documentary Festival (RIDF) – Short Doc section
  • Smita Patil International Film Festival
  • Madurai International Documentary and Short Film Festival
  • Beyond Borders Feminist Film Festival, Delhi
  • Kolkata People’s Film Festival
  • Toulouse Indian Film Festival – Asia Connexion Short Film Competition
  • Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival
  • Bulbul Children’s International Film Festival
  • DOC.Coimbra International Documentary Festival