Santosh Sivan is an Indian cinematographer, film director, producer and actor known for his works in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi cinema. Santosh graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India and has, to date, completed 55 feature films and 50 documentaries. He is regarded as one of India's finest and best cinematographers. He is the recipient of the Pierre Angénieux Excellens in Cinematography, twelve National Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards, four Kerala State Film Awards, and three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.
The National Film Award for Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation was one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India. It was one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Kamal. At the 70th National Film Awards, the category was discontinued and combined with Best Film on Family Welfare, Best Film on National Integration and Best Film on Other Social Issues. The new award is named as Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values.
Parvathy Thiruvothu Kottuvattaa, known mononymously as Parvathy, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil films. She is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award, two Kerala State Film Awards and five Filmfare Awards South.
Ram Madhvani is an Indian film director, producer, and creator known for one of the few people who has received the national award for his film Neerja, an International Emmy nomination for his series Aarya and two Cannes advertising award for his commercials.
Ritu Sarin is an Indian film director, producer and artist based in Dharamshala, India. She is the director of the Dharamshala International Film Festival.
Tenzing Sonam is a Tibetan film director, writer and essayist based in Dharamshala. He works through his production company, White Crane Films, which he runs with his partner, Ritu Sarin.
The Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) is an international film festival held annually in the Himalayan town McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala in India — home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan community in exile since 2012. The 12th edition of DIFF was held from 4 to 7 November 2023, in McLeodganj, Dharamshala.
Amoghavarsha JS is an Indian filmmaker, wildlife photographer, and conservationist, best known for his films “Wild Karnataka”, India's first blue-chip natural history movie, and “Gandhada Gudi”, a docudrama featuring the late Dr. Puneeth Rajkumar.
Methil Devika is an Indian classical dancer and research supervisor. She was a Senior Research Associate at ISRO's Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, in 2023 working on an arts-integrated-advance-science project ideated by her.
Chennai International Queer Film Festival is a three-day LGBT- event that usually takes places on the last weekend of July as a part of the city's pride events. The main organizers are SAATHII and Orinam in partnership with Goethe-Institut, Chennai. The other volunteers include various community groups and NGOs, including Nirangal, East-West Center for Counselling, and RIOV. The last day is usually performances along with a panel discussion, usually to discuss and bring out the challenges faced by community members.
Bunkar: The Last of the Varanasi Weavers is an Indian documentary that focuses on the lives of the weavers of Varanasi. It was directed by Satyaprakash Upadhyay. It showcases the nuances of the handloom sector in Varanasi, what makes it stand out from other handloom products and the issues that affect its artisans. The film was made in 2018 and had its world premiere in the Indian Panorama at 49th International Film Festival of India in Goa. The film's director, Satyaprakash Upadhyay, has also won Best Debutante Director (Documentary) Award at Jaipur International Film Festival (JIFF) 2019. It won "Best arts and culture film" in the 2018 National Film Awards.
Aimee Baruah is an Indian actress, producer, and director. She has won three National Film Awards for both features films and non-feature films.
Dar Gai is a Ukrainian-Indian director, screenwriter and producer. She is best known for her work on the films Teen Aur Aadha and Namdev Bhau: In Search of Silence. She is the founder of Jugaad Motion Pictures, a Mumbai-based media studio engaged in the production of feature films, television series, commercials, and music videos. Gai has directed popular music videos for Indian artists like Prateek Kuhad and Ritviz.
Sangita Iyer is an Indian-born Canadian author, broadcast journalist, writer, biologist and documentary filmmaker. She is known for her advocacy on wildlife conservation, especially for wild elephants, and for exposing the atrocities against Asian elephants by religious institutions. She is the founding executive director and president of the Voice for Asian Elephants Society, which was created in 2016 with the aim of protecting wild and captive elephants of India.
Gods in Shackles is a 2016 Indian investigative drama feature-length documentary film written, directed and executive produced by Sangita Iyer on her documentary directorial debut. The documentary is based on the captive elephants in Kerala culture and inspired by the filmmaker's own personal experience witnessing the torture and suffering faced by the temple elephants during cultural festivals. The documentary was screened at the Legislative Assembly of Kerala on 21 May 2016 following a suggestion by speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan, who formally approved the release.
Arayamparambil Vasavan Anoop, better known as A V Anoop, is an Indian entrepreneur, social worker, actor, author and film producer. He is the Managing Director of AVA Group of Companies, a consortium of ayurvedic, herbal and food products. The group is the manufacturer of the World’s largest selling Ayurvedic Bath Soap “Medimix”. The group also owns the most popular household Kerala brands in spices and condiments “Melam” ,Kaytra in personal care and a multi-speciality most modern ayurvedic hospital under the name “Sanjeevanam” in Kochi, Kerala.
Tora's Husband is a 2022 Indian Assamese language film written, shot, edited, produced and directed by Rima Das.
Christo Tomy is an Indian filmmaker known for his impactful work in both short films and feature films. He is a two-time National Film Award winning director. In 2016, he won the Swarna Kamal for Best Director for his short film Kamuki (Sweetheart). He also won the National Award for Debut Director in the non-feature category for his short film Kanyaka (Virgin).
AFSPA, 1958 is a 2006 Manipuri documentary film directed by Haobam Paban Kumar in his directorial debut and produced by Bachaspatimayum Sunzu and Haobam. The film won the National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film at the 56th National Film Awards.
Deepa Dhanraj is an Indian documentary filmmaker, writer, and researcher whose work focuses on women's rights, social justice, and grassroots political movements. With a career spanning over four decades, she is recognized for amplifying marginalized voices and exploring themes of gender, caste, and systemic inequities spotlighting the experiences of marginalized communities, including Dalit and Adivasi women.
