The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), supported by Netflix unveiled nine emerging talents from the film, television and games industries selected for its BAFTA Breakthrough India 2024 cohort. BAFTA is introducing its UK, USA and India participants simultaneously, with 43 talented individuals selected globally.
The nine names for BAFTA Breakthrough India were selected by a distinguished jury of leading experts in the creative industry, including jury chair and BAFTA Breakthrough ambassador Sikhya Entertainment producer, founder & CEO Guneet Monga Kapoor; Lakshya Digital CEO Manvendra Shukul; Netflix India content vice president Monika Shergill; actor and former Breakthrough India Palomi Ghosh; filmmaker Rajiv Menon; actor, theatre director Ratna Pathak Shah; filmmaker Sangeeta Datta; filmmaker Shonali Bose and filmmaker Sushmit Ghosh.
The list of BAFTA Breakthrough India participants for 2024 is:
● Abhinav Chokhavatia | game producer – Down and Out
● Christo Tomy | director – Curry and Cyanide: The Jolly Joseph Case
● Deepa Bhatia | writer/ director/ producer – First Act
● Dhiman Karmakar | sound designer/ production sound mixer – Amar Singh Chamkila
● Jaydeep Sarkar | showrunner/ series director/ executive producer- Rainbow Rishta
● Monisha Thyagarajan | series producer – The Hunt For Veerappan
● Neeraj Kumar | producer/ lead developer – Artifice: War Tactics
● Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy | director/ writer/ performer – Aachar & Co
● Varun Grover | writer/ director – All India Rank
Over the last three years, BAFTA Breakthrough, supported by Netflix, has discovered and nurtured upcoming professionals from the film, games and television industries across India. It has equipped them with the resources they need to hone their skills and thrive in their chosen line of creative work in the screen industries. As part of this programme, the Breakthroughs were provided with invaluable support in networking and learning from a global creative community, including experts such as Richie Mehta, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Phoebe Waller Bridge, Paul Laverty, Graham Broadbent, amongst others.
“BAFTA Breakthrough, now in its 11th year, spotlights a host of emerging and talented ‘must-watch’ creative practitioners working across film, games and television. This year we have an amazing roster of casting directors, producers, writers, performers, lead artists, cinematographers, lead developers, and more. We urge the industry to take note. A huge thank you to Netflix, whose support makes BAFTA Breakthrough possible,” said BAFTA CEO Jane Millichip.
“A massive congratulations to this year’s nine India Breakthroughs, who demonstrate once again that there is no shortage of creative talent in India. It was extremely difficult to narrow down the pool of talented candidates. I can’t wait to see how this year’s cohort harnesses BAFTA Breakthrough’s opportunities to hone their craft,” said BAFTA Breakthrough India ambassador and jury chair, Guneet Monga Kapoor.
“This marks our fourth consecutive year supporting BAFTA in discovering and nurturing the next wave of creative talent, and the experience has been incredibly fulfilling. India is brimming with storytellers and this collaboration allows us to support emerging voices as they make their mark across industries in the creative landscape. Congratulations to this year’s nine Breakthroughs—we’re excited to see where this journey takes them,” said Netflix India content vice president Monika Shergill.
Throughout the year-long programme, the Breakthroughs will benefit from professional development while connecting with the academy’s global network of over 12,000 members. They will also get the opportunity to share their expertise with peers from around the world, engaging in a creative and cultural exchange across the film, games and television circuits. In addition to this, they will receive free access to BAFTA events and screenings for 12 months and full voting BAFTA membership in the academy’s world-leading film, games and television awards. Moreover, as BAFTA Breakthrough artists, they will be promoted on a global stage, gaining access to opportunities beyond Indian shores.
BAFTA’s Breakthrough today counts 290 people amongst its alumni, including Callum Turner, Florence Pugh, Gemma Langford, Letitia Wright, Tom Holland, and Josh O’Connor since its inception in 2013. Having launched in India in 2020, the programme has since nurtured the careers of creative talents like Alokananda Dasgupta, Arun Karthick, Jay Pinak Oza, Karthikeya Murthy, Shruti Ghosh, Sumukhi Suresh, and Taniya Maniktala, amongst others. Many of BAFTA’s previous Breakthroughs have flourished in their careers, with several even becoming BAFTA winners and nominees.
The list of BAFTA Breakthrough UK participants for 2024 is as below:
● Alice Russell | director – If The Streets Were On Fire
● Beth Park | lead performance director – Black Myth: Wukong
● Clair Titley | director – The Contestant
● Cobbie Yates | costume designer – Layla
● Daf James | creator/ writer/ executive producer/ musical director – Lost Boys & Fairies
● Fred Hoffman | art director – Paper Trail
● Georgina Hurcombe | creator / producer / director – Pop Paper City
● Harry Gilbert | casting director – G’wed
● Jennifer English | performer – Baldur’s Gate three
● Kyla Harris | lead performer / co-creator / co-writer / associate producer – We Might Regret This (applied as a team)
● Lauren Sequeira | creator / writer / executive producer – Domino Day
● Lee Getty | co-creator / co-writer / associate producer – We Might Regret This (applied as a team)
● Loran Dunn | producer – Hoard
● Luna Carmoon | writer / director – Hoard
● Luned Tonderai | series director – Miriam: Death Of A Reality Star
● Mawaan Rizwan | performer / creator / writer – Juice
● Otto Baxter | writer / director / performer – The Puppet Asylum
● Poulomi Basu | creator / director / writer / art director – MAYA: The Birth of a Superhero
● Rochelle Newman | producer – White Nanny Black Child
● Shahnaz Dulaimy | editor – Top Boy
● Sophie Knowles | lead artist – Viewfinder
The list of BAFTA Breakthrough USA participants for 2024 is as below:
● Angela Walker Patton | director – Daughters (applied as a team)
● Elaine Gómez | creative director – Blink Land
● Erica Tremblay | writer / director – Fancy Dance
● Hanna Park | editor – Bottoms
● Jih-E Peng | cinematographer – Girls Will Be Girls
● Joy Ngiaw | composer – Wondla
● Juliana Hoffpauir | costume designer – Hit Man
● Karrie Shirou Shao | game writer / lead designer – Pacific Drive
● Nafisa Kaptownwala | casting director – Dìdi
● Natalie Rae | director – Daughters (applied as a team)
● Nava Mau | performer – Baby Reindeer
● Nicole He | creative director – The Crush House
● Sean Wang | writer / director – Dìdi