PYAR Foundation
A nonprofit organization dedicated to amplifying independent cinema, preserving cultural heritage, and supporting filmmakers whose stories deserve to be seen.
501(c)(3) Nonprofit OrganizationOur Mission
PYAR Foundation exists to champion stories that would otherwise go untold — films rooted in culture, community, and human dignity. We believe cinema is among the most powerful forces for empathy and understanding across the world, and we commit our resources to the filmmakers and festivals that carry that torch.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, PYAR Foundation provides financial support, production resources, and institutional backing to projects that center underrepresented voices. Our work spans independent film festivals, narrative features, and documentary projects, united by a shared belief in the transformative power of storytelling.
PYAR Foundation is the nonprofit arm of PYAR Films, a production company committed to meaningful, socially engaged cinema.
Current Projects
PYAR Foundation currently supports three active initiatives spanning India, East Africa, and the international film community.
Project 01
A world-class film festival in Mumbai dedicated to facilitating new cinematic voices and unique storytelling for global audiences.
Learn more →Project 02
A documentary film following the Maasai community in East Africa, chronicling their culture, resilience, and the fight for clean water access.
Learn more →Project 03
An internationally acclaimed Kerala-set drama about a woman's quiet awakening — a France–India–US co-production making waves at Berlinale and beyond.
Learn more →About Us
PYAR Foundation is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to PYAR Foundation are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Our work is made possible through the generosity of individual donors, institutional partners, and the broader community of people who believe that stories — and the people who tell them — deserve support.
Celebrating new cinematic voices from India and the world
The Bandra Film Festival is a premier international film festival based in Mumbai, India, dedicated to amplifying independent filmmakers and emerging cinematic voices. Rooted in the vibrant creative spirit of Bandra — Mumbai's cultural heartbeat — the festival creates a platform where bold storytelling meets global audiences.
The festival's mission is to build a mutually inclusive community and host a world-class festival focused on facilitating a synergy for new cinematic voices, an exchange of innovative ideas, and unique storytelling for audiences worldwide.
PYAR Foundation proudly supports the Bandra Film Festival as a key cultural partner and nonprofit sponsor. Our support enables the festival to broaden its reach, fund emerging filmmakers, and continue its mission of democratizing access to film distribution and global exhibition.
Through this partnership, PYAR Foundation helps ensure that independent Indian cinema — and international films in dialogue with it — find the audiences they deserve.
Visit bandrafilmfestival.com ↗The Disappearing Flower — a Kerala drama about waiting, endurance, and change
Kurinji is a Kerala-set drama directed by filmmaker Payal Sethi, following Laly — a wife and mother whose husband has been working in the Gulf for 12 years. When he suddenly stops calling and sending money, Laly turns to a local television program that helps trace missing migrant workers. Her search uncovers his hidden life abroad, forcing her to confront an uncertain future and imagine a different life for herself.
The film takes its name from the kurinji flower, which blooms once every 12 years in the Nilgiris mountain range — a powerful metaphor for the story's themes of waiting, endurance, and the possibility of transformation.
Kurinji has earned extraordinary recognition on the global film circuit. The project was presented at the Berlinale Talents Script Station and received the prestigious Kompagnon Fellowship from Perspektive Deutsches Kino and Berlinale Talents in 2022. In 2024, it won First Prize at the NFDC Film Bazaar Co-Production Market in Goa — a $10,000 award recognizing it as the most compelling co-production project of the year.
The film is produced by U.S.-based FilmKaravan — the producers behind the International Emmy-winning Delhi Crime — alongside France's Blue Monday Productions and India's Eastern Eagle Production. The France co-production deal was announced at the European Film Market in Berlin in early 2026.
PYAR Foundation supports Kurinji as part of its commitment to championing South Asian women filmmakers and stories that explore contemporary Indian realities with nuance and humanity. Director Payal Sethi's vision — to tell the story of women living in "emotional exile" while their husbands work abroad — aligns deeply with PYAR Foundation's mission of amplifying voices that might otherwise go unheard.
Read coverage in Variety ↗Bearing witness to resilience, culture, and the universal need for water
The Maasai Community Documentary is an ongoing film project chronicling the lives, traditions, and daily realities of the Maasai people of East Africa — one of the world's oldest and most culturally distinctive communities. The documentary focuses on the intersection of cultural preservation and the urgent humanitarian challenge of clean water access.
In Maasai communities across Tanzania and Kenya, women walk up to 18 miles daily to fetch water that is often unsafe for human use. The documentary captures the human impact of this water crisis — and the remarkable resilience, pride, and organization of the communities working to address it.
The film follows the Maasai tribe of the Monduli district — a community living across over 200 square miles of ancestral land, navigating the pressures of modernity while striving to preserve their identity. Central to the narrative are the women of the community, who bear the greatest burden of water insecurity and serve as the backbone of Maasai society.
The documentary is developed in partnership with Maji Wells — a grassroots organization whose name means "water" in Swahili — which is actively working to bring clean water infrastructure to these communities. "Maji" is the Swahili word for water, and the organization works to ensure that communities don't have to walk miles for water that isn't even safe to drink.
By placing cameras in the hands of community members and centering Maasai voices, the documentary aims to be a record of cultural endurance and a catalyst for lasting change.
Learn more at majiwells.org ↗We'd love to hear from you
Whether you're a filmmaker, potential partner, donor, or press — we welcome your outreach. PYAR Foundation and PYAR Films operate with a shared mission and are always open to conversations about collaboration and support.