Varun Grover’s directorial debut All India Rank will make its world premiere at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam in February. The movie has been selected as the closing film of the festival—as part of the Bright Future section showcasing feature-length debuts—that will take place in Rotterdam from 26 January 2023 to 6 February 2023.

“[I] am absolutely thrilled and humbled at this selection, ” Grover told DeadAnt. “Thankful to my producers at Matchbox Shots who made sure we get to make it with full authenticity—casting newcomers (Bodhisattva Sharma, Samta Sudiksha, Ayush Pandey, and Neeraj) and working with a women-led crew in almost all the technical departments.”

Grover also called the selection a dream start for any film, mentioning that as far as he knows, no Indian film has been selected to close the festival.

“This is a film full of nostalgia for the 90s, a compassionate look at middle class insecurities, and the joy of cluelessness,” Grover added. “We hope to show it widely in India soon.”   

As per PTI, All India Rank is a semi-autobiographical tale about Vivek, a middle-class boy who has joined coaching classes in order to crack the entrance exams of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).  

Apart from All India Rank, there’s a strong contingent of Indian films that will be showcased at IFFR. Devashish Makhija’s Joram, starring Manoj Bajpayee and Zeeshan Ayyub, will be a part of the Big Screen Competition at the festival. Other Indian films at the festival include Dear Me by Suchana Saha, A Flower In A Foglight by Gaurav Puri, Moha by Santosh Sivan, Senna Hegde’s 1744 White Alto, and Don Palathara’s Family.