BAFTA Breakthrough India 2022 announces its Jury members

Apurva Asrani, A R Rahman, Ratna Pathak Shah are amongst a few of those determining BAFTA Breakthrough India 2022 participants. Read on to know more!

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced a stellar list of jury members for the second year of the BAFTA Breakthrough India 2022 program, supported by Netflix. Well-known and prominent creatives across the film, games, and television circuits, the jury members came together to select talented 'Breakthroughs' for 2022. A R Rahman, BAFTA Breakthrough India's Ambassador, chaired the jury.

In order to select between five to ten finalists from numerous applications by candidates, the jury met virtually on 8th February 2022, bringing to the table multiple perspectives and global knowledge across the film, games and television industry. Please find a breakdown below of this year’s Jurors including previous BAFTA Breakthrough participant Charu Desodt.

The full list of Jurors for 2022 include:

1.     AR Rahman - Jury Chair (Music Composer, Singer & Music Producer Breakthrough India Ambassador & Jury Chair)

2.     Krishnendu Majumdar (BAFTA Chair & Co-founder of Me + You Productions)

3.     Monika Shergill (Vice President, Content – Netflix India)

4.     Anupam Kher (Actor)

5.     Apurva Asrani (Writer)

6.     Charu Desodt (Games Producer & Breakthrough UK Honouree (2014))

7.     Gaurav Gandhi (Country Head, Amazon Prime Video India)

8.     Guneet Monga, Breakthrough India Supporter for Film (Founder & CEO, Sikhya Entertainment; Film Producer)

9.     Ratna Pathak Shah, Breakthrough India Supporter for TV/OTT (Actor, Theatre Director)

10.   Shonali Bose (Director, Writer & Producer)

11.   Siddharth Roy Kapur (Founder of Roy Kapur Films & Producer)

12.   Vishal Gondal, Breakthrough India Supporter for Games (Founder & CEO, GOQii; Co-founder, nCore Games)

With the intention to bolster the new generation of rising talent in the country alongside those from the UK and USA, the program arrived in India in 2020, selecting a total of ten instead of five (as initially planned) 'Breakthroughs' across film, games, and television due to the countless quality applications received.

Once again, the chosen number of 'Breakthroughs' will receive professional development and career guidance, one-to-one industry meetings, full voting BAFTA membership, and access to BAFTA events and networking opportunities, both in the UK and internationally.

In addition, this year's Breakthrough India program also saw an additional collaboration with practitioners Guneet Monga, Vishal Gondal, and Ratna Pathak Shah from the Indian film, games, and television industries, respectively, as Industry Supporters to offer support and facilitate easy navigation of the country's multifaceted talent. Naman Ramachandran, journalist, film critic, writer, festival programmer, and International Correspondent at Variety, brought his industry and talent insight to the Breakthrough India initiative as a consultant on the application shortlist process.

BAFTA Breakthrough India Ambassador & Jury Chair AR Rahman said, “Being a part of BAFTA's Breakthrough India Jury and, in turn, its trailblazing journey to represent and celebrate artists globally - including India, is a privilege. The high-caliber applications we received stand testament to the fact that talent exists in abundance across the length and breadth of our country, seeking to showcase their art rooted in India's richly diverse culture and heritage. It is important for us to identify, encourage and nurture talent not only in established industries such as cinema and television but also in emerging ones like gaming. Through the Breakthrough program, we intend to offer such artists brimming with talent and creativity a chance to cultivate and hone their craft, supported by industry knowledge and other networking opportunities. Last year, the debut cohort of talents proved that India houses extraordinary creatives, and platforms like BAFTA Breakthrough provide the wind to help them set sail their ship and leave an impactful legacy."

BAFTA Chair & Breakthrough India Juror, Krishnendu Majumdar said, "Our vision at BAFTA has always been crystal clear - with cultivating diversity and inclusion, we aim to capitalize on the strength of building a real game-changing platform for upcoming talents to be valued, respected, appreciated and most importantly celebrated. There is no doubt that the Indian film, games, and television industry has great potential with an endless array of professionals - some already established and some yet to find their footing. In either case, BAFTA Breakthrough is a worldwide, all-encompassing platform that holds the power to develop and build thriving careers.”

Monika Shergill, Vice President, Content, Netflix India said “India has such a vast bouquet of talent with a marked appetite for unique storytelling and format experimentation. After the highly successful first edition in 2021, this year we’ve deepened our focus on representing diverse Indian voices and choosing those who have been able to showcase a true sense of originality across genres in a deeply meaningful way. The BAFTA Breakthrough program is about discovering new voices and encouraging their vision and creativity. I’m honored to have been a part of an esteemed jury and share this responsibility with stalwarts across films, games, and streaming."

The final list of Breakthroughs will be announced in March 2022.

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