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Short film by Indian American twins debuts at NukhuFest 2026
Queens-based Majumdar brothers foreground immigration, identity in short film.
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Malvika Choudhary - Fri, 20, Mar 2026
- 17:53 EDT
- 24
film's poster / nukhufoundation.org
Half A Life, a short film by Ranju and Sanjit Majumdar, two identical Indian-American twins from Queens, New York, had its online premiere as a semifinalist at NukhuFest 2026.
The four-minute film, co-written and co-directed by the brothers, began streaming last month on Nukhu’s platform as part of the annual festival organized by the Nukhu Foundation.
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Set and filmed in Jackson Heights, Queens, Half A Life follows an immigration documents counterfeiter whose underground operation is exposed by local film students seeking online visibility.
The film adopts elements of a noir-style crime drama to examine immigration, identity and survival within one of New York City’s most diverse neighborhoods.
Actor Finn Wittrock, a two-time Emmy nominee known for his roles in American Crime Story, The Big Short and Origin, leads the cast. He is also set to portray Milton Hershey in an upcoming biographical film.
The filmmakers said the project draws on personal experience and long-term observation of immigrant life in Queens.
“When conceptualizing Half A Life, we wanted to express the immigrant experience through a classic American genre,” the Majumdar brothers said. “Jackson Heights is a place where countless people are reinventing themselves every day, often under enormous pressure. This story comes from what we have seen, heard, and lived in this neighborhood.”
In a director’s statement, the filmmakers said the story uses the framework of an amnesia thriller to examine cultural assimilation and identity formation.
“The business of selling counterfeit identities is the perfect backdrop to delve into the nature of adopting a culture,” they said.
They added that economic pressures, including rising rents and limited opportunities in Jackson Heights, have contributed to underground economies reflected in the film’s narrative.
The central character, a Bosnian Muslim immigrant, is partly inspired by the filmmakers’ father, a refugee of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, shaping the film’s focus on displacement and rebuilding identity.
Ranju and Sanjit Majumdar began filmmaking at age 16 and were selected for the Berlinale Talent Campus in 2005 while studying at Penn State. Their earlier feature, Determinism, later premiered on Netflix. They have also worked in post-production on films that screened at Sundance and Tribeca, including Cronies and A Rising Fury.
Produced on a budget of $3,000 and shot on the Arri Alexa 35, the film reflects an independent production model aligned with NukhuFest’s focus on emerging filmmakers.
As a semifinalist, Half A Life is open to public voting through Sept. 19. The top ten entries will advance to a finalist showcase, with the highest-ranked project receiving a development-to-distribution grant.
NukhuFest is a global film festival that supports independent filmmakers and underrepresented voices through a curated selection process and public voting model.
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