Cactus Pears [15]

Directed by Rohan Parashuram Kanawade

We loved this gentle and moving award-winning study of grief and love in rural India when we previewed it earlier in the year.

After his father dies, 30-year-old Anand returns from Mumbai to his ancestral village for a 10-day mourning period. The intensity of these rituals and his well- meaning relatives’ pressure on him to marry leave him little room to grieve. But his rekindled friendship with childhood pal and local farmer Balya offers him a glimpse of freedom, and as the pair reconnect and explore their shared history, their companionship leads to deeper feelings.

Against the backdrop of Western India’s vast, rugged landscapes, Kanawade’s understated, beautifully photographed modern romance won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival 2025.

Tickets £6 (£1 child/student) available on the door or in advance from the Buxton Opera House box-office (01298 72190) or online.