India’s First Palaeoscience Film Festival ‘PRITHVI 2026’ Announced, To Be Held 23–25 July in Lucknow -- Know Key Details

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh: In the quiet, fossil-scented corridors of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), history usually speaks in fractions of millimeters--a pollen grain trapped in amber, the delicate impression of a leaf on a piece of shale, or the ancient breath of the planet locked inside a cylinder of ice.

But this July, the deep time of our planet is getting a cinematic upgrade.

At the Raj Bhavan on Friday, Anandiben Patel, the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, officially unveiled the brochure for PRITHVI 2026 -- The Palaeoscience Film Festival of India. Conceived by the BSIP, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, this three-day event (running from July 23–25, 2026) marks a monumental first not just for India, but for all of Asia: a film festival dedicated entirely to the mysteries of Palaeosciences and Earth sciences.

The acronym itself tells the story. PRITHVI stands for "Palaeosciences Research and Interventions Through Visual Initiatives." It is a bold experiment designed to answer a frustratingly modern problem: how do you get a fast-paced society to care about things that happened three billion years ago?

When the Earth Whispers, Cinema Directs

For decades, the biggest stories on Earth have been written in the rock record, hidden from the public eye behind dense academic jargon and paywalled journals. PRITHVI 2026 aims to shatter that barrier, turning scientists into directors and complex geoheritage into gripping narrative arcs.

"We want to translate complex scientific research into engaging visual narratives," says Dr. Nimish Kapoor, BSIP Scientist and the Festival Convenor, who stood alongside BSIP Director Prof. Mahesh G. Thakkar and Senior Scientist Dr. Binita Phartiyal during the unveiling.

"It’s about bringing Earth’s stories to life to inspire a sustainable tomorrow," he said.

The festival spans seven fiercely competitive categories, spanning the full spectrum of visual imagination:

--Documentary Films

--Short Films

--Animation Films

--Science Fiction Films

--Climate Change Films

--Geoheritage & Geotourism Films

-- A special category for films created by college/university students and research scholars

A Constitutional Vision

Beyond the entertainment value, the festival aligns with Article 51A(h) of the Constitution of India, which tasks every citizen with a profound duty: to develop a scientific temper, humanism, and the spirit of inquiry. It is a creative brick being laid for the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.

A Melting Pot of Science and Screenplay

The BSIP Auditorium is bracing for an influx of hundreds of filmmaker-scientists, research scholars, and students from across the country. The initiative has deliberately broken down departmental silos, urging universities to bridge the gap between Mass Communication, Journalism, and Film Studies with Geology, Environmental Sciences, and Botany.

It is a place where a scriptwriter might sit next to an expert on ancient monsoons, discovering that they are both trying to tell the exact same story.

Beyond the flashing lights of the screening room, PRITHVI 2026 will also host the National Dialogue on Earth Science

Communication for Public Engagement.

Through masterclasses and panel discussions, policymakers, educators, and media professionals will map out how to talk about climate change and Earth history in a way that resonates with the public.

The Afterlife of the Frame

When the curtains fall on July 25, the films won't simply be packed away into archives. Supported by the Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Department of Science & Technology, the curated selection of films will be converted into open-access educational resources for schools and colleges across India.

The ultimate goal of PRITHVI 2026 isn't just to hand out trophies; it is to ensure that long after the festival ends, a child in a classroom somewhere can look at a rock, see past its cold surface, and watch the history of the world play out like a movie.