Bitchitra Collective is proud to announce the recipients of its 2025 Documentary Film & Media Fellowship, as well as the winner of the Sriyanka Ray Grant, awarded in partnership with Brown Girls Doc Mafia (BGDM). Six filmmakers of Indian heritage, based in both the U.S. and India, have been selected as 2025 Fellows, each receiving a $2,000 grant to advance their short or feature-length documentary projects. The fellowship also provides six months of mentorship from accomplished filmmakers. In addition, the Sriyanka Ray Grant grant – dedicated to supporting social justice driven storytelling rooted in local communities –  awardee will receive $4,000. 

This year’s jurors – Mamta Trivedi, Meena Longjam, and Sundeep Morrison – shared the following statement:

“To all who applied—thank you. You blew us away. The 2025 jury was honored to receive an extraordinary breadth of submissions, rich with bold vision, inventive form, and deeply personal storytelling. From vérité grit to cinematic poetry, the range of approaches reflected the vast and vibrant landscape of South Asian creativity today. We were especially inspired by how many of you are pushing the boundaries of documentary form while holding firm to ethical rigor and cultural specificity. Choosing finalists from such a powerhouse pool—emerging and established voices alike—was no easy task. To the selected grantees: your work speaks to this moment with clarity, courage, and imagination. To everyone who applied: keep creating. Keep breaking molds. The world is watching—and we can’t wait to see what you do next.”

 

WINNER OF THE SRIYANKA RAY GRANT

Sriyanka Ray Grant in partnership with Brown Girls Doc Mafia (BGDM) is awarded to the project that honor Sriyanka’s  fierce commitment to resistance, joy and equity. 

 

 

 

PAUSHALI SAHA
Project: Vanishing River
In the face of rising waters and uncertain futures, Shanti, a once joyful rafter, now navigates the turbulent currents of climate change, transitioning from river expert to resilient rescuer on the banks of the Teesta.

 

 

 

FELLOW: ALVINA JOSHI
Project: Tokora Sorai’r Baah (A Weaver Bird’s Nest)
As their home faces demolition, Mahendra fights to preserve his art and grandchildren’s love, his son Jugnu seeks freedom from his father’s shadow, and Jugnu’s wife dares to dream of a new life—each torn between the ties that bind and the futures they crave. 

 

 

 

MENTOR: DEEPA BHATIA
Deepa Bhatia is a Mumbai-based, award-winning film editor, documentary director and producer. Deepa began her professional career as an assistant director to Govind Nihalani. This early experience gave her a solid foundation in film craft, which got fortified, editing Nihalani’s films, including Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa, Dev and Deham. She went on to collaborate with a diverse and exciting range of filmmakers, including Ashim Ahluwalia, Jahnu Barua, Karan Johar, Abhishek Kapoor, James Erskine, Mozez Singh, Rahul Dholakia and her partner Amole Gupte. She expanded her creative horizons to producing features and directing documentaries films and series. Her first documentary Nero’s Guests, reported on the agrarian crisis as seen through the eyes of rural journalist, P. Sainath and won several Indian and International awards. She has recently produced, directed and written First Act, a six-part documentary series on child actors, currently airing on Prime Video, for which she was selected as part of the BAFTA Breakthrough Cohort, 2025.

 

 

FELLOW: GUNJAN MENON
Project: Dreaming in Blue
Shabeena and Mariyam set out to unearth hidden mysteries under the unexplored ocean of India’s remote Lakshadweep islands while juggling motherhood and their pioneering roles as the first female marine biologists on their island. Their quest to discover new species turns into a fight to protect their island home when they are forced to confront a triple jeopardy — societal barriers, a climate crisis, and a new proposed development that could change their lives forever.

 

 

 

MENTOR: KHUSHBOO RANKA
Khushboo Ranka is a Mumbai-based filmmaker known for An Insignificant Man (2016), which became India’s highest-grossing political documentary. It premiered at TIFF, BFI, and over 55 international festivals, winning multiple awards, including the Doc Impact Hi5 Award for its groundbreaking campaign. She co-wrote Ship of Theseus (2012), a philosophical exploration of identity and ethics, which won the National Award for Best Film and was celebrated at numerous international festivals. Khushboo directed India’s first Virtual Reality Documentary, Right to Pray (2016), which premiered at TIFF and Sheffield. She also produced the political strategy board game Shasn, which raised over $300,000 on Kickstarter and became India’s biggest board game. Most recently, she produced While We Watched, a Peabody Award-winning documentary on journalist Ravish Kumar, which won top awards at TIFF, Sheffield, and Sydney Film Festival. Beyond filmmaking, she has been actively involved in mobilizing resources for the Indian documentary ecosystem, working to expand opportunities for emerging filmmakers.