Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Shine Global
Not part of a collection.
When a brilliant nine-year-old working in a sweatshop gets a chance to attend school, she must make a difficult choice for her and her sister's future.
CinemaSerf
Aug 9, 2026 · via TMDB
Nine year old "Anuja" (Sanda Pathan) is a bright young lass who has been forced to work in a sweatshop for the exploitative "Verma" (Nagesh Bhonsle) who knows full well that she and her elder sister "Palak" (Anaya Shanbhag) have little by way of options. Then her schoolteacher arrives to point out that it's illegal to employ someone so young - even if she does somewhat unconvincingly lie about her age - and that for the want of just 400 rupees she could take an examination that could earn a scholarship to school. Her sister is mindful of the opportunity awaiting her sister, but where are they going to get the cash and even then how might she ever sneak away from her duties long enough to sit it? The two girls give quite a potent performance here as the film lays bare the fairly common practice of child labour at the hands of a man who couldn't care less about them or their educational prospects, and I did find the ingenuity of "Palak" quite affecting too - but the film itself is just too short to really do much more than scratch the surface of a societal predicament faced by millions caught in the employment trap so common in the rag trade - and not just in India either. There's a nice little twist in the tale at the end, but it's not really a fitting topic for a short film to do much justice to.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Netflix
Netflix Standard with Ads
Sajda Pathan
Anuja
Ananya Shanbhag
Palak
Nagesh Bhonsle
Mr. Verma
Priyanka Chopra Jonas
Executive Producer
Aaron Kopp
Producer
Guneet Monga
Producer
Mindy Kaling
Producer
Crystal Frog
Cat Skin
Antoine and Colette
Quarters
Mon germà
Military Dog
Welcome to Earth
Reencuentro
Fabrizio’s Initiation
The Tempest
Red Star
The Space Between Us
Because You're Mine
Noodles
The Vigrant
Hiraeth
DINNER
Runaway American Dream
Without Specifying
The Deadline
Tyson's Run
Gigi & Nate
Curfew
Skater Girl
The Visit
What Maisie Knew
Flicka
Fedora
Matriculated
Starving in Suburbia
Skin
TalhotBlond
My Dinner with Hervé
The River
Fast Girls
Won't Back Down
Teen Spirit
A Second Chance
Come Sunday
The Girl in the Book
Jun 8, 2024
deadCenter Film Festival
Jul 28, 2024
IndyShorts International Film Festival
Aug 15, 2024
HollyShorts Film Festival
Aug 17, 2024
HollyShorts Film Festival
Oct 6, 2024
Yellow Barn Film Festival
Oct 18, 2024
Montclair Film Festival
Oct 20, 2024
Tasveer Film Festival
Oct 24, 2024
Naples International Film Festival
Nov 7, 2024
Nov 9, 2024
St. Louis International Film Festival
Dec 6, 2024
HollyShorts London Film Festival
Feb 5, 2025
Netflix
Feb 27, 2025
McMinnville Short Film Festival
© 2025-2026 MovieNight. All rights reserved.
Versus
Sign in to play →
Wasting, sinking, dazzling, floating
2024
That Model from Paris
1926
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
Versus
Sign in to play →
Wasting, sinking, dazzling, floating
2024
That Model from Paris
1926
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
We use essential cookies to run MovieNight, plus analytics (Google Analytics) and advertising (Google AdSense) cookies. By continuing to browse, you agree to this — or click No and we won't. See our Terms & Privacy Policy to learn more.