As
an
endeavor
to
support
and
empower
Indian
female
talent
in
cinema,
Ekta
Kapoor,
Joint
Managing
Director
&
Creative
Director,
Balaji
Telefilms
Ltd.,
Balaji
Motion
Pictures
and
Alt
Balaji,
Guneet
Monga,
Founder
&
CEO,
Sikhya
Entertainment
and
Tahira
Kashyap
Khurrana,
writer
and
filmmaker
have
come
together
to
lay
the
foundation
of
Indian
Women
Rising,
a
cinema
collective.
In
India,
a
lot
has
been
discussed
about
representation
of
women
on
screen.
While
this
situation
is
far
from
ideal,
the
focus
on
women
behind
the
camera
has
been
even
more
limited.
Speaking
about
the
origin
of
this
cinema
collective,
Guneet
Monga
shares,
"Less
than
5%
of
the
total
directors
in
India
are
female.
It's
time
we
change
these
stats
and
double
down
on
each
other.
I
strongly
believe
that
India
is
a
gold
mine
of
talent
and
with
this
collective
we
wish
to
shine
the
spotlight
on
many
amazing
women
that
can
benefit
from
our
humble
support.
The
intent
is
to
use
our
collective
resources
to
amplify
independent
women
creators."
Tahira
Kashyap
Khurrana
adds,
"There
is
a
limited
amount
of
work
represented
about
women
and
the
scope
reduces
further
when
it's
by
the
women.
We,
as
a
cinema
collective,
are
trying
to
address
this
in
the
scope
of
films.
Since
there
is
representation
of
limited
material
when
it
concerns
women
and
their
stories,
we
easily
get
stereotyped.
Either
we
have
revolutionaries
on
one
end
of
the
spectrum
or
tragedy
stricken
damsels
on
the
other
extreme
end.
I
mean
we
can
be
all
of
that
but
there
is
so
much
more
to
us.
Our
bandwidth
is
broader
than
the
general
assumption
which
perhaps
will
surface
if
we
have
more
women
working
not
just
in
front
of
the
camera
but
behind
as
well.
This
collective
intends
to
disrupt
the
boxed
notions
about
women."
Ekta
Kapoor
shares,
"When
Guneet
and
Tahira
told
me
about
the
idea
of
launching
this
collective,
it
was
an
instant
yes
from
me.
It
is
always
exciting
to
collaborate
with
likeminded
individuals.
I
have
always
believed
that
women
create
wonders
when
given
the
right
opportunity
and
the
support.
Through
IWR,
our
vision
is
to
do
that
and
empower
independent
women
filmmakers
and
creators
and
give
them
a
platform
to
showcase
their
talent.
We
are
hopeful
that
our
collective
will
encourage
more
female
directors
to
come
forward
with
their
work
and
lead
the
way
in
our
industry."
The
collective
aims
at
discovering
Indian
female
talent
in
cinema
and
amplify
her
work
with
marketing,
sales
and
distribution
push
irrespective
of
geographical
locations.
Any
filmmaker
in
or
outside
of
India
can
apply
at
the
collective.
In
its
first
phase,
the
collective
will
actively
seek
finished
films
only-whether
a
short,
a
documentary
or
a
feature
film.
About
Indian
Women
Rising,
a
Cinema
Collective
Indian
Women
Rising
is
a
Cinema
Collective
meant
to
discover,
nurture
and
bring
spotlight
on
the
Indian
female
talent
in
cinema
across
the
world.
Spearheaded
by
three
prolific
women
and
industry
stalwarts,
Ekta
Kapoor,
Guneet
Monga
and
Tahira
Kashyap
Khurrana,
this
passion
project
is
born
with
a
sole
purpose
of
disrupting
the
status
quo
and
amplifying
the
voice
of
Indian
female
film
makers
because
now
content
is
Queen!
The
collective
truly
believes
that
when
one
woman
shines,
she
opens
the
doors
for
many
more
-
It's
time,
women
enable
women.