Skip to main content
The Housekeeper film image; woman fiddling with plants growing up grating

The Housekeeper

Deepa Didi

VIFF Short Forum

North American Premiere

Over time, the routines of Abhi, a young urbanite living in Mumbai, and Deepa, his housekeeper, intertwine.

Director
Cast

Zoya Shabana Khan, Manik Papneja, Mahi Girish Bhanushali, Yaashi Agarwal, Vipul Chanda, Asif Ali

Credits
Country of Origin

India

Year

2024

Language

In Hindi, English and Marathi with English subtitles

18+
24 min
Cinemas of Asia Drama Shorts

Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Pallavi Singh

Producer

Kedhhar Barrve, Surya Balakrishnan

Screenwriter

Deepanshu Mallik

Cinematography

Manoj Karmakar

Editor

Navtika Sharma, Abhro Banerjee

Production Design

Trupti Chavan

Original Music

Shubham Shirule

Surya Balakrishnan headshot

Surya Balakrishnan

Surya Balakrishnan is a filmmaker and co-founder of Footloose Films, a Mumbai-based advertising production house. A graphic design graduate and NYFA alum, Balakrishnan recently directed two episodes of the critically acclaimed Amazon Original Khauf. Her debut feature documentary, Amarkatha (2025), is an eco-political film set in Kashmir that explores the complexities of the Amarnath pilgrimage. A format-agnostic by choice, Balakrishnan gravitates toward stories that gently urge us to care.

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

Late Fame

Dir. Kent Jones
96 min

Based on a novella by Arthur Schnitzler (Eyes Wide Shut) this is a sly, poignant comedy about vanity and art from director Kent Jones, starring Willem Dafoe as a mailman belatedly acclaimed for a book of poetry he wrote in his youth.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

A Sad and Beautiful World

Dir. Cyril Aris
110 min

This Lebanese love story chronicles the romance between a level-headed businesswoman and a romantic restauranteur across several decades in wartorn Beirut. It's funny, charming, melancholy and you'll feel it all.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Filipiñana

Dir. Rafael Manuel
100 min

A luxury golf course in the Philippines is the microcosm for Rafel Manuel's vastly assured feature debut, a striking composed comedy which mixes languid surrealism with pointed political satire.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Hanging by a Wire

Dir. Mohammed Ali Naqvi
78 min

The Himalayas, Aug 22, 2023: a cable car bearing 8 passengers (six of them schoolkids) is left dangling 900 feet above the ground when two out of three cables snap. This nailbiting documentary recounts the increasingly frantic rescue attempts.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Union County

Dir. Adam Meeks
97 min

In this authentically grounded addiction recovery drama, Will Poulter and Noah Centenio are foster brothers trying to get out from their dependence on opioids through a progressive government program in Ohio.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Sun Never Sets

Dir. Joe Swanberg
102 min

At the suggestion of her much older (divorced) boyfriend, Wendy (Dakota Fanning) takes a summer to reevaluate her life and date other people. She's reluctant at first, but then reconnects with an old flame... A gentle indie comedy from Joe Swanberg.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre