Aman has won the Short Film Award at the 2026 BFI London Film Festival, bringing fresh recognition to Rahul Roye’s drama about a trans man confronting an unexpected pregnancy.
The result was announced on Sunday 18 October as the festival’s 70th edition drew to a close. For UK audiences, the award also offers an immediate opportunity to discover the film: it is currently included in BFI Player’s free short-film programme.
The BFI’s official awards announcement praised a competition spanning different countries, filmmaking approaches and experiences. Within that programme, Aman puts questions of identity and parenthood at the centre of an intimate personal story.
What is Aman about?
The premise follows a trans man preparing for gender-affirming surgery. When he discovers he is pregnant, the experience forces him to reconsider his relationship with his body, masculinity and the possibility of fatherhood.
It is a story built around an individual facing a major turning point, rather than a simple explanation of trans identity. The distinction matters: the central character has decisions to make, feelings to process and a future that suddenly looks different from the one he had imagined.
According to the BFI Player listing for Aman, the drama runs for 16 minutes and is presented in Hindi with English subtitles. The listed cast includes Kabir Maan, Sirat Taneja and Guntaj Deep Singh.
Why the London Film Festival jury recognised Aman
The short-film jury highlighted the film’s nuanced characters, confident visual storytelling and willingness to leave difficult questions open. Its praise focused on filmmaking and characterisation, as well as the themes being explored.
That is a useful distinction for anyone discovering the title through its award. This is recognition for a work of cinema, with the jury responding to how the story is told rather than treating its subject as its only achievement.
The Short Film Competition jury was led by writer and producer Helen Simmons, alongside comedian Leo Reich and script editor Jack Casey.
Rahul Roye’s personal connection to the film
In a director’s statement published by the film’s sales company, Roye describes growing up genderqueer in an environment where gender was often understood in rigid terms. The filmmaker explains that some feelings were difficult to express because the language for them was missing.
Roye connects Aman to that experience, describing the project as an attempt to broaden the ways gender can be discussed and to make room for people whose lives do not fit fixed categories.
Read alongside the synopsis, that intention suggests a film interested in uncertainty and personal change. It also explains why the story’s questions about the body and manhood are closely connected, rather than separate themes added around the central character.
A festival journey with international connections
The British Council’s UK Films Database records selections for both Toronto International Film Festival’s Short Cuts programme and the BFI London Film Festival competition.
The database lists the project as an unofficial coproduction involving the UK, US, France and India. Its producers include Neeraj Churi, Elle León Nostas, Apoorva Bakshi, Tushar Tyagi and Abid Aziz Merchant, with editing credited to Anandi Athaley and music to Tajdar Junaid.
Those credits underline the collaboration behind a film with a very concentrated running time. A short can contain an international production effort while keeping its attention firmly on one person’s experience.
How to watch Aman in the UK
Aman is available through BFI Player’s free section. The service lists closed captions and audio description, and recommends the film for audiences aged 15 and over because it contains scenes of sex.
Availability is limited. The awards announcement says the film is free until 25 October, while the player page currently labels it as leaving on 24 October. Viewers should check the live listing and watch before that earlier date to avoid missing the window.
For audiences seeking the newly recognised short, the immediate news is straightforward: Aman is an award winner that UK viewers can discover at home now.
