Nishtha Jain is an internationally-recognized filmmaker based in Mumbai best known for her films – Gulabi Gang (2012), Lakshmi and Me (2007) and City of Photos (2004). Her films interrogate lived experiences at the intersection of gender, caste and class. They explore the political in the personal while uncovering the mechanisms of privilege. The subject of her films ranges from popular photography and family albums to films about the working class –both unorganised and industrial labour; women’s grassroots movements; and farmers’ movements.
Her latest film, The Golden Thread, explores the ecosystem of a natural fibre that has been progressively undermined by the capitalist economy and western understanding of indigenous practices.
Nishtha Jain is the winner of the prestigious Chicken & Egg Award (2020); a Member of the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences (AMPAS); Film Independent Global Media Maker Fellow (2019-20); and Recipient of Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowship (2019).
After postgraduate training at Jamia Mass Communication Research Centre, New Delhi, she pursued Film Direction at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune before launching a career in independent cinema.
She’s been working across formats –non-fiction and fiction. Her films have been widely screened at film festivals and art-house cinemas and broadcast on TV. They have won numerous international awards and garnered critical acclaim.
Nishtha Jain has served as a juror at IDFA, ZFF, Cinema Verité and IDSFFK. She has given lectures and master classes at numerous universities nationally and internationally, including Stanford, NYU, Wellesley College, UCSB, Northwestern University, UT Austin, Cambridge University, University of London, St. Andrews University, Heidelberg, Danish Film School, FTII Pune, India, Satyajit Ray Film & TV Institute.
Filmography
The Golden Thread (Doc) Premiere at IDFA 2022
Proof (Short Narrative) 2019
Submerged (VR Documentary) 2016
Gulabi Gang (Doc) 2012
Family Album (Doc) 2010
At My Doorstep (Doc) 2009
Lakshmi and Me (Docu) 2007
6 Yards To Democracy (Doc) 2006
Call It Slut (Short Doc) 2005
City Of Photos (Doc) 2004