Shimla: A documentary highlighting the rich cultural and intellectual heritage of the Hatti community in Himachal Pradesh has been selected for the 19th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) 2026. Acclaimed filmmaker Dr. Dev Kannya Thakur’s Mein Hoon Pabuch will have its Indian premiere on June 16 at the FD-NFDC Complex, Pedder Road, Mumbai.
The film has been selected in the prestigious Prism Section under the Documentary category, which features outstanding and path-breaking films from India and abroad.
Mein Hoon Pabuch chronicles the unique traditions of the Pabuch Brahmin community of Khadkahn village in Sirmaur district, which belongs to the Hatti community. The documentary explores a living knowledge system that has survived for centuries and continues to be preserved in the remote Himalayan region.
The film traces the origins of the tradition to ancient Kashmir, once a major centre of learning, where scholars from present-day Himachal Pradesh studied the Sharada script and related knowledge systems. Over time, these traditions evolved into the distinctive Pavuchi Manuscript tradition maintained by the Pabuch Brahmins.
The documentary also focuses on Sancha Vidya, a condensed repository of Vedic wisdom through which members of the community provide guidance to those seeking their counsel. Manuscripts dating back to the 15th century are still carefully preserved in households, with generations dedicated to safeguarding and passing on this knowledge.
By documenting this rare and little-known tradition, the film highlights the importance of preserving India’s indigenous knowledge systems and offers a glimpse into a unique aspect of the Hatti community’s heritage.
Established in 1990, the Mumbai International Film Festival, organised by the National Film Development Corporation under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, is the oldest and largest festival for non-feature films in South Asia and is regarded as a major platform for documentary, short fiction and animation cinema.
