“I am looking forward to seeing the brilliant talent chosen from India"
Award-winning Indian music composer AR Rahman on December 7, 2020, was announced as the ambassador for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts’ (BAFTA) ‘Breakthrough Initiative.’
The initiative, supported by Netflix, aims to identify, celebrate, and support up to five talents working in film, games, or TV in India.
Rahman said he is thrilled to work with BAFTA to discover the talent that the country has to offer.
The 53-year-old composer said in a statement:
“This is a unique opportunity for promising artists to be supported by a world-renowned organisation.
“Artists not only make connections with other talented creatives across the world but to be mentored by BAFTA-winners and nominees.
“I am looking forward to seeing the brilliant talent chosen from India to be showcased on a global stage.”
Today we've opened applications for #BAFTABreakthrough India, in partnership with @Netflix! Find out how to apply https://t.co/qk3nUX8F9y
AND we asked BAFTA-winning @ARRahman, our BAFTA Breakthrough India ambassador, for a few of his film recommendations? pic.twitter.com/XJAh5ScXC3
— BAFTA (@BAFTA) November 30, 2020
The flagship new talent initiative is part of BAFTA’s year-round work to support new talent, operating alongside their awards ceremonies worldwide.
BAFTA Breakthrough India will help facilitate the development of relationships between British talent and India’s homegrown creatives.
Amanda Berry OBE, Chief Executive of BAFTA, said Rahman shares the team’s passion for identifying and nurturing new talent and they were grateful for his support.
Berry stated:
“He is well-positioned to support the initiative, with his broad spectrum of work drawing recognition across Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu films.
“His experience will help BAFTA to appeal to a wide section of the industry.”
As part of BAFTA Breakthrough India, a jury of British and Indian industry experts will select five talents from across India.
The chosen talents will take part in the year-long mentoring and guidance programme. The participants will receive one-to-one mentoring and global networking opportunities.
They will also have free access to BAFTA events and screenings for 12 months, and full voting for BAFTA membership.
This is the first time the BAFTA Breakthrough programme has embraced India’s thriving, but often disparate, arts industry.
Rahman points out that the western world is mostly accustomed to seeing the Hindi or Bollywood industry of India.
He attests:
“There are many other amazing directors, all over India. Each state has its own film industry.
“And there are some really interesting cultural things that can be learned from those movies.”
This latest talent search is aimed at recognising and nurturing Indian artists working both on-screen and behind the scenes.
Applications are open from candidates in all areas of the film, television and games industries.
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