The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has named ten emerging talents from across the Indian film, gaming and television industries that will participate in the 2022 edition of its BAFTA Breakthrough India initiative supported by Netflix.
The 2022 contingent includes writer-director Ajitpal Singh (“Tabbar,” “Fire in the Mountain”); composer Alokananda Dasgupta (“Sacred Games”), writer-director Arati Kadav (“Cargo”), producer Mathivanan Rajendran (“Nirvana Inn”), writer-director Leena Manimekalai (“Maadathy, an Unfairy Tale”), game director Nakul Verma (“In My Shadow”), writer-director Prateek Vats (“Eeb Allay Ooo!”), cinematographer Saumyananda Sahi (“Eeb Allay Ooo!”), writer Shubham (“Eeb Allay Ooo!”) and performer Sumukhi Suresh (“Pushpavalli”).
The talents were selected by a jury consisting of BAFTA-winning composer A.R. Rahman, editor and writer Apurva Asrani, actors Anupam Kher and Ratna Pathak Shah, games producer Charu Desodt, Amazon India head Gaurav Gandhi, Netflix India content chief Monika Shergill, producers Siddharth Roy Kapur and Guneet Monga, BAFTA chair Krishnendu Majumdar, GOQii CEO Vishal Gondal and filmmaker Shonali Bose.
During the program, the participants will have opportunities to interact with leading British and Indian creatives and will receive one-to-one meetings, global networking opportunities, free access to BAFTA events and screenings for 12 months, and full BAFTA voting membership. They will be promoted as BAFTA Breakthrough artists globally, gaining access to international opportunities.
Tim Hunter, executive director of learning and new talent at BAFTA, said: “Through our successful first cycle in India, we were delighted to introduce such a broad and diverse group of creative voices to our industry networks in the UK and beyond, helping to recognize their talent on the global stage. With our second cycle we see that this was just the tip of the iceberg and we’re so excited to be working with another crop of such world-class talent.”
Rahman, BAFTA Breakthrough India ambassador and jury chair, said: “Selecting just 10 participants out of the incredible applications we received was a challenging task. After a lively discussion and careful consideration, the chosen 10 Breakthroughs are a diverse mix of individuals from across various regions, professions and languages, reflecting India’s creative diversity. With BAFTA Breakthrough India providing a doorway to significant opportunities at the national and international level, I am looking forward to the 2022 cohort of ten Indian talents making the most of their experience.”
Shergill said: “India is a vibrant hub of storytellers and creatives. Through BAFTA Breakthrough India we are excited to do our part to identify and empower fresh, new voices and talent that deserves a platform like this. We received many incredible applications this year.”
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