Building up the excitement for a massive movie release takes a lot of creativity. To get fans ready for their upcoming feature film, PREM XL, which hits theaters on October 2, 2026, the teams at Heavy Budget and D Mojo Art decided to do something special. They hosted a unique 3-minute short film competition to find and celebrate fresh filmmaking talent.

The main rule of the contest was a fun challenge: every filmmaker had to tell a complete, impactful story in exactly three minutes or less. The response from the creative community was massive, with a total of 81 short films submitted to the competition. After weeks of watching the submissions, looking at great camera work, and discussing the best stories, the team gathered on June 7, 2026, to celebrate the winners.

The evening took place at AGORA -the space, a community space located in Bamunimaidam, Guwahati. The venue was completely packed with movie lovers and eager creators, making the atmosphere feel truly electric. Everyone in attendance got to sit back and watch a special screening of the short films entered into the competition. Following the screenings, the event moved into an interactive Q&A session, giving the audience a chance to dive deeper into the creative choices behind the films.

To make the night even more memorable, the popular Heavy Budget trio Bonny Deori, Jonny Deori, and Tony Deori Basumatary attended the ceremony to hand out the awards in person. The main cast members of PREM XL were also there in the crowd, cheering on the independent creators. During the show, Tony Deori Basumatary shared a few inspiring words on stage. He spoke about how proud he was to see so much raw filmmaking talent in the room, noting that keeping a story engaging within a strict 3-minute limit is incredibly tough, but every single filmmaker nailed the challenge. He also thanked the crowd for their massive support over the years and promised that this same passionate energy is exactly what they are bringing to the big screen with PREM XL this October.

When it came time for the awards, the top three directors were given official printed certificates along with their prize money in a cheque leaflet. First prize and Rs. 10,000 went to Mousam and Team for their wonderfully paced film, The Lunch Break. Second prize of Rs. 7,500 went to Filmo Axom for Pages of Love, and third prize of Rs. 5,000 went to PYROZ for Neeramoni. Heavy Budget also gave out a special YouTube Collaboration award to the team behind the comedy short Lubh Story by Nimbu Mirchi Totka, earning them an exclusive opportunity to create content directly with the Heavy Budget YouTube channel.