After bagging the La Cinef Award for Best Short at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know has now qualified for the 2025 Oscars in the Live Action Short Film category.

Picture courtesy:  Chidananda S Naik 

Directed by Chidananda S Naik, this Kannada short film won the La Cinef Award, which recognises outstanding films from film schools worldwide.

Picture courtesy: Chidananda S Naik 

Produced by FTII (Film and Television Institute of India), the film was made by Naik as part of a year-end exercise at the India’s premier film school.

Picture courtesy: Chidananda S Naik 

The story centres on an elderly woman who steals the village rooster, causing the sun to stop rising. This triggers a prophecy that leads to her exile. Her family then embarks on a desperate mission to bring back the rooster and restore order.

Picture courtesy: Chidananda S Naik

The inspiration for this 16-minute film comes from a beloved folktale in Karnataka that Naik has cherished since childhood.

Picture courtesy: Chidananda S Naik

“I’ve had this idea since I was young,” Naik shared. “When I told my teammates, they liked it, but I was surprised they had never heard the story. In Karnataka, though, even kids know this tale.”

Picture courtesy: Chidananda S Naik

Combining whimsical, fairytale-like elements, Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know also carries a hint of impending doom.

Picture courtesy: Chidananda S Naik

Shot entirely at night over four days, it also won the Best Indian Competition Award at the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival.

Picture courtesy: Chidananda S Naik

Naik’s path to filmmaking was an unexpected one, as he transitioned from studying medicine to pursuing his passion for cinema. The reason? “There is no blueprint that tells us what to do in life. I just decided to be happy and do things that make me and the people around me happy.”

Picture courtesy: Chidananda S Naik

With Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know, he brings a unique perspective to his storytelling. Filled with symbolism of life and death and a stark visual narrative, the film invites the viewer to be a part of its world.

Picture courtesy: Chidananda S Naik