The Indian Express Group along with SCREEN today announced SCREEN Academy’s launch, a not-for-profit initiative to identify, empower, and present new voices in Indian cinema. This initiative seeks to cultivate an energetic ecosystem for emerging talent by way of education. Representation along with recognition will also be of support to the academy’s goals.
The SCREEN Academy has a roster that has diverse members including acclaimed Cannes and Oscar winners like Guneet Monga, Payal Kapadia, and also Resul Pookutty, alongside veteran screenwriter Anjum Rajabali. The Academy will collaborate alongside India’s top film institutes with an aim to shape Indian filmmaking’s future.
Along with the collaborations, it will make annual postgraduate fellowship awards to those students who are nominated by their film schools. Founding Patron Abhishek Lodha of the Lodha Foundation gave ample support for its establishment. These fellowships are designed specifically for individuals showing outstanding storytelling potential yet facing financial barriers to pursuing formal film education. For the application process’s full details, see www.screen-academy.org
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis praised the initiative, emphasising its timely launch and strong ties to Mumbai, the heart of the Indian film industry. “The film industry has an inseparable association with Mumbai. I am thrilled to learn of the inception of the not-for-profit Screen Academy by The Indian Express Group…I am certain that the Indian film industry will benefit immensely from the new filmmaking talent the academy aims to cultivate,” he stated.
Institutionalising Excellence and Nurturing Diverse Talent
Anant Goenka, Executive Director of The Indian Express Group and the driving force behind the Academy, commented, “SCREEN Academy represents a bold step toward institutionalising excellence in the entertainment and culture space. We will create an ecosystem that not only celebrates excellence but actively nurtures diverse and promising talent with both financial aid and access.”
Abhishek Lodha highlighted the Academy’s crucial role in bolstering India’s soft power and its growth as a global leader in the creative arts. “The Lodha Foundation is committed to supporting India’s progress to becoming a developed nation by 2047. Films and creative arts are a key strength of our nation and the SCREEN Academy will play an important role in furthering India’s progress to a global leader in this field. The Lodha Foundation is pleased to partner with the SCREEN Academy in this ambitious initiative,” he said.
Academic Excellence and Industry Integration
The SCREEN Academy Fellowships 2025 will provide full financial support for postgraduate studies at premier institutions, including the Film and Television Institute of India (Pune), Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (Kolkata), and Whistling Woods International (Mumbai). The Academy also plans to expand its reach by adding more film schools in the future.
Beyond financial aid, fellows will benefit from an unprecedented industry mentorship program, featuring India’s top studios and most respected film professionals as Academy members. These industry leaders will offer masterclasses, internships, and ongoing professional guidance.
Dhiraj Singh, Director of the Film and Television Institute of India, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “SCREEN is a very respected name in film journalism. FTII is very happy that a meaningful collaboration is taking place. I am sure students and the industry will benefit greatly with this scholarship program.”
Samiran Dutta, Director in charge of the Satyajit Ray Institute, highlighted how the fellowships will bridge a vital gap for talented students from diverse backgrounds. “We have talent from diverse and unknown parts of India, not only from urban metros, producing great ideas and fabulous stories. Understandably, some of our students find it difficult to negotiate the expenditure of film education. The SCREEN Academy fellowship will help in their quest to make great cinema.”
Meghna Ghai Puri, President of Whistling Woods International, echoed these sentiments: “At Whistling Woods International, we believe that access to quality education can transform lives. This scholarship, in collaboration with the SCREEN Academy, ensures that financial constraints do not come in the way of creativity and ambition. It’s a partnership rooted in shared values — excellence, inclusivity, and a deep commitment to nurturing the storytellers of tomorrow.”
The selection of fellows will be overseen by a distinguished panel headed by veteran screenwriter and film academician Anjum Rajabali. He noted, “This hugely generous initiative offers much-needed support to young people to avail of formal education in the craft, for which the film, TV, and the OTT sector will be grateful for having access to this talent pool. These scholarships will help in driving up the quality of writing and filmmaking here.”
SCREEN Academy Members reflect a diverse list with representation across the industry.
Guneet Monga – Oscar-winning Producer
Payal Kapadia – Cannes Grand Prix winner and Golden Globe nominee
Resul Pookutty – Oscar-winning Sound Designer
Ronnie Screwvala – Founder of RSVP Films and Upgrad
Subhash Ghai – Director/Producer and Founder Whistling Woods International
Recognizing Excellence: The SCREEN Awards
In addition to its educational mission, SCREEN Academy will take over the prestigious SCREEN Awards, honoring artistic brilliance, cultural excellence, and technical innovation across Indian entertainment. Academy members will serve as the voting body, ensuring industry credibility and expertise guide the recognition process.
To further ensure excellence, SCREEN Academy has established a Resident Critics Panel, including Dr Priya Jaikumar (Professor of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and scholar-in-residence, SCREEN Academy), Priyanka Sinha Jha (Curator of SCREEN Awards), Shubra Gupta (The Indian Express Film Critic), Nikhil Taneja (Co-Founder of We are Yuvaa), and Anjum Rajabali.
Priyanka Sinha Jha affirmed, “The Academy will grow to define rigorous criteria, categories, and evaluation standards to ensure fairness and credibility in honouring outstanding contributions to cinema, music, theatre, regional cinema and other allied art forms.”
About SCREEN
For over 80 years, SCREEN, India’s first film newspaper established in 1951 and home to the popular SCREEN Awards, has been the most credible news source on Indian cinema and the entertainment industry. Ramnath Goenka, the legendary champion of journalism, acknowledged the soft power of films and the film industry—the art and science of it—half a century before the trade was recognised as an industry.
Re-acquired from Disney in 2024 and in a brand new digital-first avatar today, SCREEN is one of India’s largest entertainment news destinations, reaching 40 million users monthly across four languages: Hindi, English, Marathi, and Tamil.
In the last six months, SCREEN has launched several video programmes and live events including ‘Expresso’, ‘SCREEN Live’, ‘Dear Me’, ‘Your Weekend Watchlist’, and ‘The Suvir Saran Show’.
Media Contact:
Sonal Joshi
Screen Academy
Email: [sonaljoshi@screenfoundation.org]
Phone: [+91-9920418503]
Partnership Enquiries:
Pooja Puri
Screen Academy
Email: [pooja.puri@indianexpress.com]
Phone: [+91-9810004412]
