Tasveer Film Festival / original film preview ·
A Stranger, an Unlikely Offering and One More Chance: Sheila Sawhny Brings PEANUT to Tasveer
Sheila Sawhny's 10-minute short about a chance encounter in the woods screens October 18 in Tasveer's Shapeless Aasman program, following its Los Angeles world premiere.
A man has reached a crossroads. He heads into the woods, where an encounter with a mysterious woman turns an otherwise bleak moment toward something he did not expect. That is the premise of PEANUT, a short drama from director Sheila Sawhny, scheduled to screen in Seattle at the Tasveer Film Festival on Sunday, October 18.
The title sounds almost playful for a story this heavy. IFFLA's official festival synopsis explains the offering: peanuts, handed to the man by the woman he encounters. What begins as a descent into darkness changes course through a disarmingly ordinary gesture. Sawhny calls it a “fairy tale in reverse,” a way to explore hopelessness, connection and the possibility of starting over without turning the story into a lecture.
A small encounter with a lot riding on it
The film runs 10 minutes and 36 seconds, but the director's stated ambition is larger than its runtime. In the electronic press kit sent to FVTV by producer Laney Brabson, Sawhny describes building an emotional transformation within the confines of a short film. Rehearsals with the cast, an uneasy woodland setting and the collaboration of sound and score all serve that idea.
Gary J. Klavans wrote the screenplay and plays Jackson. Bellina Logan portrays the woman he meets. Sawhny directed; Brabson, Graeme Finlayson and Sawhny are credited as producers. That division of credits matters: the story originated with Klavans, and Sawhny shaped its screen interpretation.
There is also a wider conversation inside the setup. What can another person give someone who seems ready to surrender? Sawhny's answer, at least in the description she has shared with audiences, centers on human connection. Whether the on-screen execution lands is for viewers to decide at the screening.
From Los Angeles to Seattle
PEANUT had its world premiere at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles on April 25, 2026, according to IFFLA's official program. The Glendale International Film Festival independently lists the film in its September 24 drama-shorts program. Brabson describes the Tasveer engagement as its Seattle premiere and says Sawhny will attend.
Sawhny's career brings its own independent-film context to the project. IFFLA identifies her as a Mumbai-born filmmaker who worked as Senior Programming Manager with Film Independent's Global Media Makers program and previously acted in and produced Stay With Me. Here, she moves into film direction with a spare two-person drama rather than a sprawling debut feature.
Where to see PEANUT at Tasveer
The film is part of Shapeless Aasman: Timeless | The Last Door Open | Peanut | Aasmani at 1:00 PM Pacific on Sunday, October 18, in House 01 at the Tasveer Film Center in Seattle. The festival classifies the program among its narrative shorts and lists filmmakers in attendance.
FVTV has independently confirmed the screening on the festival's official schedule. Festival badgeholders still need a separate screening reservation, which Tasveer says is complimentary but subject to seat availability. The program is scheduled before Tasveer's 4:00 PM Closing Night screening.
There is a larger reason to pay attention to a 10-minute film making this particular stop. Tasveer's South Asian storytelling focus gives Sawhny a Seattle audience familiar with independent work that moves between cultures and communities. PEANUT is making a simple proposition in complicated times: an encounter that looks minor from the outside may be the turning point somebody else needs.