KEYWORDS: Trauma, family, PTSD

This brand-new feature, directed by Tanushree Das and Saumyananda Sahi, delves into the ramifications of one family’s intense experience with mental health.

It follows Maya, a multitasking mother who lives in Kolkata with her husband, Sundar, and their teenage son, Debu. She juggles three jobs as the family’s primary breadwinner, while also dealing with ostracization and neighbourhood rumours about Sundar, an unemployed ex-soldier suffering from PTSD. Debu is often left as his father’s primary caregiver, and the young man valiantly copes with feelings of affection and embarrassment in the face of his father’s daily struggles. After her husband disappears, Maya must fight to hold her family together in the face of an unexpected murder investigation and an unknown and very uncertain future.

With highly engaging lead performances and a fresh perspective on both trauma and caregiving, Shadowbox is a poignant yet tense film that exposes prejudice and peels back the layers of obligation, love, and the complexities of relationships. 

WITH SHORT FILM ——— Adieu Ugarit —— Samy Benammar | 2025 | Quebec/Canada | Documentary  | 15 minutes

“In 2012, Mohamed had seen his best friend shot dead by an armed militia on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria; the blood spilled in the lake contaminated his memory. Ten years on, the reflections on the Laurentian waters revive Mohamed’s trauma. I ask him if he’d like to dredge up the memories, repair the pain by retreating for a few days to the most distressing calm he can find. He talks about death, immigration and anger. We wonder how and why we should recount this story.” – Samy Benammar