Sūnna Wins the Children’s Resilience in Disability Stories Award at ReelAbilities

May 1, 2026, New York, NY – Shine Global, in partnership with ReelAbilities Film Festival, is proud to announce the live action short film Sūnna, written and directed by Radha Mehta, as the recipient of this year’s Children’s Resilience in Disability Stories Award, which includes a $2,000 honorarium. The award recognizes films that highlight the resilience and strength of children with disabilities, uplifting stories that challenge stigma and expand understanding.

Sūnna (which means “listen” in Hindi) tells the story of Lakshmi, a young girl musician whose sudden hearing loss shatters her sense of identity. Through memory, touch, and cultural connection, she begins to reclaim both her music and herself.

Director Radha Mehta is a civil engineer-turned-filmmaker. With an MFA in Film Directing from the American Film Institute, she is also a Disability Belongs Entertainment Fellow, a BIPOC Deaf Arts Grant recipient, a voting member of The Recording Academy, and a recipient of the Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge from CAPE. Drawing from her lived experience as a South Asian, first-generation mother who is hard-of-hearing, Mehta’s work explores motherhood, women’s empowerment, and the dismantling of cultural taboos surrounding mental health and disability.

“Young Lakshmi’s world is rooted in music. It shapes how she connects with her family, her culture, and her sense of self. What’s so powerful about Sūnna is that when she begins to lose her hearing, the film doesn’t frame it as a tragedy or an ending. Instead, we watch her discover new ways to experience and stay connected to music on her own terms. It becomes a story of creativity and resilience,”  said Alexandra Blaney, Co-CEO and Creative Director of Shine Global. “Writer/Director Radha Mehta brings this journey to life with such care and originality. The filmmaking is immersive and deeply intentional, inviting us into Lakshmi’s sensory experience in a way that feels both intimate and expansive. It is a beautiful, affirming portrait of resilience that celebrates possibility and transformation. We are honored to recognize this film through our Resilience Awards program in partnership with ReelAbilities.”

The Resilience Awards program continues Shine Global’s commitment to supporting filmmakers who center the experiences of children and young people facing adversity, and to amplifying stories that inspire empathy, action, and change.

Sūnna Film Team:

Writer & Director: Radha Mehta
Producer: Pallavi Sastry
Cinematographer: Isue Shin
Production Designer: Suneha Balasubramanya
Editor: Joseph Murphy
Executive Producers: Michelle K. Sugihara, Janet Yang, Julia S. Gouw, Radha Mehta, Satish Brahme, Samudrika Arora
Music by: Dhruv Goel

Key Cast:
Anisha Nagarajan as Savita
Aaliya Mehta as Lakshmi
Behzad Dabu as Bipin
Alyssa Diaz as Selma Michaels, Au.D.

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ABOUT SHINE GLOBAL

Shine Global is a nonprofit media company that improves the lives of children by telling powerful stories to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce and support inspiring films and compelling content about underserved children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on Capitol Hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change.

Since our founding in 2005 by Susan MacLaury and Albie Hecht, Shine Global films have won more than 100 major awards, including an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject for Inocente, an Academy Award® nomination for Best Live Action Short for Anuja, and an Academy Award® nomination and two Emmys® for War/Dance. Recent films include the documentary-animation hybrid Liyana, the hit documentary The Eagle Huntress, Through Our Eyes: Homefront which is available on HBOMax, the Ariel Award winner Home Is Somewhere Else, and Comedy Against the Odds.

ABOUT SHINE GLOBAL’S RESILIENCE AWARDS

The Shine Global Resilience Awards were created to honor films that highlight the strength, dignity, and power of children in the face of adversity. Past winners of Shine Global Resilience Awards include the feature documentaries Speak. (2025, Directed by Guy Mossman and Jennifer Tiexiera), Daughters (2024, Directed by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae), Name Me Lawand (2023, Directed by Edward Lovelace), and Lift (2022, Directed by David Petersen), Los Frikis (2024, written and directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz) in partnership with Nantucket Film Festival, the short Rise (2025, Directed by Jessica J. Rowlands), the short documentary Ayenda (2023, directed by Marie Margolius) in partnership with Heartland Film’s Indy Shorts International Film Festival, Okthanksbye (2023, Nicole Van Kilsdok) with ReelAbilities Film Festival, Savauges (2024, directed by Claude Barras), and Dounia – The Great White North (2024, directed by Marya Zarif and André Kadi) in partnership with the New York International Children’s Film Festival.

About ReelAbilities

ReelAbilities celebrates disability, inclusion and accessibility through wide-ranging international films, riveting conversations, professional workshops and other forms of visual and performing arts. Founded in NY in 2007, ReelAbilities presents the largest festival in the world dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with disabilities. With a flagship festival in New York, affiliate festivals throughout North America, an online streaming platform, industry summit, educational programs and more, ReelAbilities brings the community together to explore, discuss, embrace, and celebrate the diversity of our shared human experience, and is a leader in setting the highest standards of accessibility and inclusion in the film industry.

About ReelAbilities Industry Summit
DISABILITY INCLUSION AND EQUITY IN FILM + PERFORMING ARTS
Hosted in partnership with the NYC Mayor’s Office for Media and Entertainment, Reelabilities´ industry Summit gathers industry professionals to explore and discuss topics of accessibility, inclusion and representation in all aspects of the film and performing arts industries, and explore beyond the basics into progressive best practices.