Amazon
Prime
Video,
India's
most
loved
entertainment
hub,
has
partnered
with
Mumbai
Academy
of
Moving
Image
(MAMI)
to
launch
Maitri:
Female
First
Collective.
An
initiative
that
brings
women
together
to
nurture
conversations
and
collaborations,
Maitri
will
serve
as
a
safe
space
for
women
to
share
their
aspirations,
learn
from
each
other's
experiences
and
work
towards
unblocking
challenges
within
the
industry.
The
collective
is
an
endeavour
to
help
build
a
community
for
women
from
media
and
entertainment
where
they
can
come
together
on
a
quarterly
basis
to
discuss
their
experiences,
challenges
and
successes,
and
offer
their
perspective
and
advice
on
how
to
bring
about
a
positive
shift.
Some
of
the
highlights
of
the
sessions
will
be
available
on
Amazon
Prime
Video
India's
YouTube
channel,
MAMI's
YouTube
channel
and
their
respective
social
media
platforms.
The
first
episode
featuring
16
women
who
participated
in
the
debut
session
goes
live
today.
These
women
include
Amrita
Pandey,
CEO,
Junglee
Pictures
&
Times
Studios
Originals,
Ayesha
DeVitre
Dhillon,
Screenwriter
&
Hairstylist,
Bhavani
Iyer,
Screenwriter
&
Author,
Gayathri,
Filmmaker,
Jeeva,
Filmmaker,
Juhi
Chaturvedi,
Screenwriter,
Kunjila
Mascillamani,
Filmmaker,
Mini
Mathur,
Actor
&
TV
Host,
Nupur
Asthana,
Filmmaker,
Richa
Chadha,
Actor
&
Producer,
Rintu
Thomas,
Filmmaker,
Shweta
Tripathi
Sharma,
Actor
&
Producer,
Sumukhi
Suresh,
Comedian,
Actor,
Writer,
Creator,
Founder
&
CE-HOE,
Motormouth,
Tahira
Kashyap
Khurrana,
Filmmaker
&
Author,
Aparna
Purohit,
head
of
India
Originals,
Amazon
Prime
Video,
and
Smriti
Kiran,
Artistic
Director
of
MAMI
who
curated
the
room
and
moderated
the
discussion.
"At
Amazon,
we
believe
that
diversity,
equity
and
inclusion,
is
not
just
needed,
it
is
essential,
and
we
are
constantly
trying
to
go
beyond
intention
to
institutionalize
processes
and
mechanisms
to
create
an
eco-system
that
mirrors
true
diversity,"
said
Aparna
Purohit,
head
of
India
Originals,
Amazon
Prime
Video.
"Maitri
means
friendship
or
kinship,
and
the
idea
behind
this
initiative
was
to
create
a
space
for
women
to
get
together
as
friends,
contemporaries
and
colleagues
to
collaborate,
communicate
and
pave
the
way
for
others
to
follow.
I
believe
that
making
an
impactful
change
takes
time,
and
can
only
happen
when
we
begin
to
have
a
conversation
regularly
and
repeatedly.
I
am
glad
that
we
have
taken
this
small,
yet
significant
step
with
the
help
of
MAMI.
It
was
incredible
to
sit
at
the
same
table
as
other
strong
women
from
the
industry.
I
am
certain
that
each
one
of
us
will
be
able
to
identify
the
learnings
we
had
from
the
session
and
translate
them
into
more
actionable
initiatives
that
make
the
industry
a
better
place
for
other
women."
Smriti
Kiran,
Creator
and
Curator,
Maitri
said,
"I
have
immense
faith
in
collaboration,
community
building
and
shared
experience.
I
have
consistently
built
platforms
that
bring
creators
together,
encourage
a
sense
of
community
amongst
diverse
filmmaking
cultures
within
India
and
also
tap
into
global
talent.
It
was
invigorating
to
bring
the
first
room
for
Maitri:
Female
First
Collective
together.
The
idea
behind
Maitri
is
togetherness.
It
stands
for
unity
and
strength
by
building
bridges
that
connect,
enable
reaching
out
for
help
and
empower
all
of
us
to
take
ownership
of
the
ambit
of
power
we
have,
however
small
or
big,
to
bring
about
change.
The
conversation
that
will
lead
to
the
sustained
conversion
will
never
stop
at
Maitri.
This
will
be
a
24/7
space
that
will
keep
growing
and
evolving.
The
work
in
front
of
us
is
enormous.
Our
effort
is
to
start
at
the
foundation,
bring
mindfulness
of
the
very
basics,
address
our
own
biases,
and
begin
by
making
the
industry
a
far
more
humane
and
equitable
place
to
work.
Very
grateful
to
Aparna
Purohit
and
Amazon
Prime
Video
for
seeing
value
in
this
vision
and
giving
Maitri
the
support
that
it
needs
to
soar."
Amazon
Prime
Video
is
deeply
committed
to
promoting
Diversity,
Equity,
and
Inclusion
(DEI)
within
its
content
and
productions,
as
well
as,
with
its
partners
in
the
creative
community.
In
June
last
year,
Amazon
Studios
had
released
the
inclusion
policy
and
playbook,
which
is
being
gradually
rolled
out
across
the
organization.
With
Maitri:
Female
First
Collective,
Amazon
Prime
Video,
in
association
with
India's
prestigious
film
academy
MAMI,
aims
to
raise
awareness
of
the
pivotal
role
women
play
within
the
entertainment
industry.