Stardust
An anxious daughter battles her feelings over her father’s sudden death at 30,000 ft, with no one to console her but a pensive poet.
- Stardust
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Manahar KumarDirector
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Manahar KumarWriter
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Manahar KumarProducer
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NasimKey Cast"Marium"
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Shekeb SekanderKey Cast"Muni"
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Vee BhaktaKey Cast"Rizwan"
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Akhil DevaDirector of Photography
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Project Type:Short, Student
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Runtime:12 minutes 51 seconds
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Production Budget:10,000 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:2.35:1
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:Yes - Savannah College of Art & Design, Atlanta
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Georgia Film FestivalAtlanta
United States
Audience Award for Best Short Film -
Oregon Short Film FestivalOregon
United States
Finalist – Best International Director -
Student World Awards
Finalist -
Indian Film Festival of South Asia - Toronto
Official Selection -
Indian Film Festival of Cincinnati
Official Selection -
Chicago Indie Film Awards
Official Selection
Born and brought up around professional English Theatre in Chandigarh, North India, and pursuing his undergraduate degree in Manipal, South India, Manahar’s world-view expanded, after observing many kinds of India in one India.
In 2019, Manahar created a successful crowdfunding campaign for his thesis film – Stardust. He was 1 of 10 finalists selected for the Film Impact Georgia Grant and Stardust most recently won the “Audience Award for Best Short Film” at the Georgia Film Festival.
His short documentary - kya dekh raha hai? (What are you looking at?) fetched him a Student EMMY ® and traveled 8 International film festivals. The film won the “Best Micro Short Film” award at the Georgia Documentary Film Festival.
His latest short documentary - Badlaav (Change) Republic, currently in the film festival circuit won the “Best International Film” award at the Oregon Documentary Film Festival and “Best Documentary Award” at the Georgia Documentary Film Festival.
As a graduate student at the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD), Atlanta, Manahar received scholarships and won the “Most likely to be a renowned actor” Ambassador’s Choice Award. Manahar has collaborated and worked with companies like Georgia World Congress Center and Deloitte. Prior to his studies, Manahar collaborated on a music video with the non-profit, Men Against Rape and Discrimination (MARD) in India.
What draws Manahar to filmmaking and acting is the desire to move and entertain audiences. It is also the opportunity to shine a light of awareness, empathy, compassion, and, above all, justice, on the many social and ideological evils that lurk hidden in the shadows of the public discourse around him, be it gendered violence, a benevolent patriarchy, or exploitation by class and caste.
Working on my thesis short, Stardust, I’ve amalgamated the intimate, life-changing loss of my mentor, my grandfather, an International airplane journey, and an undying curiosity with death.
The airplane journey with the real-life Marium (from Atlanta) put my grandfather’s death and my spiral into depression, in perspective, and lo and behold, Stardust was born.
The story talks about a person who just died and one person’s way of dealing with the immediacy of the situation. The film isn’t about a grieving process, rather the moment of death --- when one is confused, questioning, anxious and bottling up everything yet facing the world by putting up a facade that they’re “fine”, being engulfed with these emotions, all at once.
The story aims to remove the mask of “I have it all together.” The characters share a non-judgmental relationship that throws light on societal norms and grief that sometimes takes years to heal. We delve into philosophical questions through religion, culture and the best solution to any problem - stories.
In conclusion, the film is a reminder to myself and viewers that, “Death is not a full stop, it’s just a comma.”