CHASHMA (BLIND SPOT) takes place in India during 1992, a time of significant socio-political change. While Hindu-Muslim tensions had existed in India since the post-Partition era, this year that witnessed a dramatic escalation, after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. Inspired by actual events, the narrative follows Supriyo, an 11-year-old boy struggling with poor vision. However, his challenges go beyond his eyesight. When a school conflict erupts between two familiar students that Supriyo witnesses, he is asked to make an important decision. Amidst rising religious tensions in the country, the short film explores the blind spots of a young boy and the country as a whole, and Supriyo is forced to confront his biases and perceptions.
Nitin Baid is a first-time director. CHASHMA (BLIND SPOT) is his directorial debut. Nitin Baid’s first feature as an editor, MASAAN, was screened at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard and won two awards. He is the first Indian editor selected for the prestigious Berlinale Talent Campus and the only Indian editor as well as a member of the international editing panel at Edimotion 2023. Additionally, he has won numerous accolades and awards for editing in his home country. Nitin now turns his focus to his directorial debut with CHASHMA.
The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) is the oldest, most prestigious film festival screening premieres of feature, documentary and
short films made from, of, and about the Indian subcontinent in the Independent, arthouse, alternate and diaspora genres.
