The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) which announced its first Breakthrough Initiative for India last year, announced the list of participants on June 10. The selected 10 artists – who are from film, television and gaming – will receive mentoring from experts and global networking opportunities. Supported by OTT platform Netflix, the initiative aims to identify artists working in films, games or TV and provide support and mentorship. Although the number of participants were limited to five earlier, it was reportedly doubled due to the overwhelming number of applications.
Academy award-winning musician AR Rahman, who was announced as the jury chair for the initiative last year, took to Twitter on Thursday to unveil the list of selected participants. A Suitable Boy star Tanya Maniktala, Gully Boy cinematographer Jay Pinak Oza and Scam 1992 writer-editor Sumit Purohit are some of the popular applicants who have been selected for the initiative. Other participants include Typewriter actor Palomi Ghosh, writer-producer of Mehsampur Akshay Singh, Nasir writer-director Arun Karthick, composer Karthikeya Murthy, The Ebb Tide writer-director Renu Savant, Elephants In My Backyard director Vikram Singh; and Shruti Ghosh, a game developer and art director.
Sharing the names of the participants, AR Rahman tweeted, “Introducing the very first #BAFTABreakthrough India participants. 10 talented newcomers across film, games and television who @BAFTAwill support over the next year, giving them unique access to the industry and mentoring opportunities. #
Introducing the very first #BAFTABreakthrough India participants. 10 talented newcomers across film, games and television who @BAFTA will support over the next year, giving them unique access to the industry and mentoring opportunities.#BAFTABreakthroughAmbassador pic.twitter.com/cURKvNIXQQ
— A.R.Rahman #99Songs (@arrahman) June 10, 2021
The jury included actor Anupam Kher, Netflix executive Monika Shergill, filmmaker Mira Nair and producer Siddharth Roy Kapur. The selected members will be receiving one-to-one mentoring, training and networking opportunities, access to BAFTA events and screenings for a year, as well as full voting BAFTA membership.