Varun Grover’s 2022 directorial debut short film KISS—starring Adarsh Gourav, Swanand Kirkire, Ashwath Bhatt and Shubhrajyoti Barat—is set to premiere on film streaming platform MUBI on 1 June. The film chronicles the challenges a filmmaker faces with the censor board over a scene in his movie.

Executive produced by Anurag Kashyap, Anto Chittilappilly, and Sanita Chittilappilly, the short won the First Runner Up prize for Indian Competition at the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival in 2022. It was also screened at the International Film Festival of South Asia Toronto, the 13th Annual Chicago South Asian Film Festival, the New York Indian Film Festival and the Beijing Queer Film Festival.

“Making a short film is one of the purest forms of film-making for me,” Grover told DeadAnt in an interview last year. “There’s no monetary return involved. Most of these films are self-funded or if you do find someone to back the film, they’re aware that they won’t make the money back. So everyone involved is in it for the love of the craft and storytelling.”

Check out the trailer for Grover’s labour of love KISS.