TBN:15/05/2026: India-born filmmaker Soumya Jyoti Pratihari has brought global attention to Odia storytelling with his documentary “Shunya: Being Prafulla Mohanti”. The film won the Tongues on Fire Flame Award for Best LGBTQIA+ Film at the UK Asian Film Festival. The recognition comes shortly after the film had its world premiere at Riverside Studios in London on May 6.
The documentary is centered on the extraordinary life of Prafulla Mohanti, the 91-year-old Odia artist, writer, architect and cultural thinker whose work has explored identity, migration, spirituality and human connection for decades.
Soumya, a Goldsmiths, University of London alumnus, spent nearly five years working closely with Prafulla Mohanti. That long association gives the documentary an intimate quality, an authenticity that allows viewers to witness not only the artist’s creative process but also the quieter, deeply personal moments of his everyday life.
The title Shunya refers to the cosmic circle and the philosophical idea of emptiness or infinity, the themes that frequently appear in Prafulla Mohanti’s paintings and writings. The documentary captures how he went from a small village in Odisha to Mumbai’s JJ School of Art, eventually becoming an architect and town planner in England. This was before he fully dedicated himself to painting and literature.
The film also explores the racism and isolation Prafulla Mohanti experienced after moving to Britain. A violent racist attack in London became a turning point in his life, that pushed him away from urban planning and closer to art and writing. Alongside his late partner Derek Moore, Prafulla Mohanti spent years encouraging creativity among children and women in his native village through art, dance and storytelling workshops.
Produced by Prodeepta Das, the documentary combines archival footage, interviews and personal reflections to paint a moving portrait of a migrant artist who continued creating despite personal loss, ageing and illness.
This win at the UK Asian Film Festival marks an important moment not only for the filmmakers, but also for regional Indian stories finding a global audience.
