Women in Film India (WIF India) made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival with the launch of it’s first initiative — a fellowship for female producers including Tillotama Shome. It is led by Academy Award-winning producer Guneet Monga Kapoor.
The newly launched chapter of the global Women in Film network, made its official debut this month under the leadership of Guneet Monga. The organization marked its launch with the unveiling of its official website — www.womeninfilmindia.org.
Backed by Women In Film Los Angeles (WIF LA), WIF India joins a global coalition of over 50 chapters across six continents working to advance gender equity in the entertainment industry. The launch is the beginning of several upcoming programs that WIF India will roll out in the near future. The first initiative kicked off at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival — a special program spotlighting three women producers from India. The website is now open to the public who can join by registering for membership, keeping themselves updated on upcoming initiatives, and other resources.
WIF India launch signals a major milestone for India’s creative community and builds on decades of international advocacy for representation in film, television, and media.
Guneet Monga said, “With WIF India, we’re putting real structure behind the idea of equality - mentorship, access, and leadership pathways,” and added, “This launch is just the beginning of a long term commitment in investing in women not just for today, but for the future of the Indian entertainment industry.”
To commemorate its debut, WIF India is introducing The Women in Film India Fellowship: Cannes Producers Edition, a flagship program designed to elevate mid-career women producers by providing them with access to the Producers Network at the Marché du Film at Cannes, an influential forum for global collaboration in cinema.
This year’s inaugural scholarship recipients are actress Tillotama Shome, Rucha Pathak - a veteran studio executive and creative producer, and Dimpy Agarwal - independent producer.
In addition to this, in a special initiative, WIF India has also awarded an Accreditation Grant to an outstanding woman producer from the Marathi film industry — Shefali Bhushan who’s films Sthal is being showcased at the Cannes Film Market.
