Forgotten Spaceman, the docu short by BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Elham Ehsas. won the Leopard of Tomorrow (Int’l petition) award at Locarno’s Junior Jury Awards.

It has added Khan & Kumar Media and Prism Entertainment as exec-producers ahead of its Toronto Film Festival premiere next month.

The new exec producers are Sharib Khan and Vikas Kumar of Khan & Kumar Media and Shruti Ganguly, Priya Giri Desai and Megha Kadakia of Prism Entertainment. The film premiered at Locarno and is set for its North American premiere at Toronto.

Written, directed and edited by Ehsas, the docu tells the story of Abdul Ahad Momand, Afghanistan’s first and only astronaut.

Momand flew to the Mir space station in 1988, at a moment when Afghanistan was nearing collapse, offering the country a rare spark of hope. During an orbital call home to his mother, he became the first person to speak Pashto in space, making it the fourth language ever used there. The documentary, made decades later, follows Ehsas as he discovers his own unexpected ties to Momand’s story, threading themes of home, identity, exile and belonging.

Director Elham Ehsas welcomed the new partners at such an exciting stage of the film’s journey. “As we continue sharing Abdul Ahad Momand’s remarkable story with audiences around the world, it’s incredibly encouraging to have such passionate partners alongside us,” Ehsas said. “I hope the film continues to spark conversations about home, identity, exile and belonging wherever it travels.”

Sharib Khan and Vikas Kumar of Khan & Kumar Media said “Forgotten Spaceman” is a film that reminds them why stories matter. “It uncovers a remarkable chapter of history that many of us never knew existed, while remaining deeply personal and profoundly human. Beyond the story of Afghanistan’s first astronaut, it explores universal themes of memory, identity, belonging and the stories that risk being forgotten. At Khan & Kumar Media, we’re drawn to stories that resonate across cultures and borders, and ‘Forgotten Spaceman’ does exactly that. We’re delighted to support its journey to audiences around the world.”

“Elham’s movie contains volumes of Afghan, South Asian and world history while being so deeply personal and profound, forcing us to reconcile ourselves with disruptions that are beyond one’s control. We are thrilled to join ‘Forgotten Spaceman’ as executive producers as we bring this story to audiences who will reconnect with it and those who will discover it for the first time,” added Ganguly, Desai and Kadakia of Prism Entertainment.

Ehsas is a BAFTA-nominated and Academy Award-shortlisted filmmaker whose short “Yellow” received a BAFTA nomination in 2024. His follow-up short, “There Will Come Soft Rains,” won best film at both Raindance and Encounters Film Festival, while his debut feature, “Our Kind of Love,” is in development with the BFI. As an actor, he recently appeared in David Mackenzie’s action thriller “Fuze” and worked as second unit director on “The Crown.”

Khan & Kumar Media is independent Mumbai production house that actor Vikas Kumar launched together with Sharib Khan’s New York-based Ammi Media. Its slate includes the Venice Horizons competition premiere “Songs of Forgotten Trees,” for which Anuparna Roy won the best director prize in 2025, and this year’s Karlovy Vary selection “The Ink-Stained Hand and the Missing Thumb.” The company returns to Venice’s Horizons competition this year with “Lovers in the Blue Night.”