Hyderabad, Nov. 18 -- It took him a while to register the news that his short film 'Kaala', which won the Best Narrative Short Drama award at Cinequest Film & VR Festival in San Jose, USA had directly qualified for the Oscars.

"It was extremely overwhelming to hear that our independent film could deliver such content, and the story resonated with many. This recognition certainly makes us more confident about ourselves and our work. The movie will now compete for the nominations, results of which will be announced by January, next year," says Delhi-based filmmaker Tarun Jain who has made films like 'Mother' and 'Aakhir' which have won several awards at film festivals across the world.

'Kaala', based on racially motivated attacks on Afric...