If things had gone as planned, Sapna Bhavnani would be unveiling the sixth edition of the Wench Film Festival at Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata today. But events over the past week have compelled the filmmaker to cancel the Kolkata leg of the horror film festival.

‘Fly’, a short film, will be screened at the festival in Mumbai

Things came undone a week ago when the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) shared a few updates with her, which included the removal of SRFTI as the venue. “On February 11, SRFTI’s PR manager informed me that they were told to put all festival activities on hold. A day later, my team member got an email from the I&B ministry in which they had mentioned the two films that they didn’t clear for screening. Also, they removed SRFTI as the venue. We never heard directly from the institute,” she shared.

With little time to arrange a new venue, Bhavnani had to cancel the screenings. She added, “We did everything as per protocol. It’s sad, especially since it’s a film school. I don’t know what pressure they have given in to.”