The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) recently unveiled 10 emerging talents from across the Indian films, games and television industries that will participate in the BAFTA Breakthrough India initiative supported by Netflix. Among them are Tamil talent Leena Manimekalai, Mathivanan Rajendran and Sumukhi Suresh. Leena is the director and writer of Maadathy, an Unfairy Tale, Mathivanan is the producer of Nirvana Inn, and Sumukhi is a performer in Pushpavalli.
Others selected in the list are Ajitpal Singh, director and writer of Tabbar, Alokananda Dasgupta, music composer and director of Sacred Games, Arati Kadav, director and writer of Cargo, Nakul Verma, game director of In My Shadow, Prateek Vats, director and writer, Saumyananda Sahi, cinematographer, and Shubham, writer of Eeb Allay Ooo! respectively.
The 10 names were selected by an eminent jury consisting of industry experts including AR Rahman, Apurva Asrani, Anupam Kher, Shonali Bose, Guneet Monga, and Ratna Pathak Shah.
During the programme, the participants will be provided with an opportunity to connect with and learn from the best British and Indian creatives, as well as share their expertise with peers from around the world. They will also receive one-to-one meetings, global networking opportunities, free access to BAFTA events and screenings for 12 months, and full BAFTA voting membership.
Talking about the list, AR Rahman says, Selecting just 10 participants out of the incredible applications we received was a challenging task. The chosen 10 are a diverse mix of individuals from across various regions, professions and languages, reflecting India’s creative diversity.