Bitchitra Collective: Indian Women in Documentary is a growing group of award-winning
Indian women/non-binary documentary filmmakers. This collective was born out of the
need to urgently address the devastating effects of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis on
our fellow women and non-binary audio-visual artists in India. In 2021, we raised
over $10,000 to support 20 audio-visual artists in India. Since then, The Bitchitra
Collective has been responsive to the cultural, social, and political situations our
members find ourselves in.
In 2022 we collectively defined ourselves and our programmatic vision, connected filmmakers
across US and India in conversations & collaborations, received the Color Congress
grant for two years and successfully funded several filmmakers on their projects and
provided unrestricted grants to aid career sustainability.
Our current programming includes supporting underrepresented filmmakers from India
and diaspora monetarily & pairing them with Oscar, Sundance & Emmy winning filmmakers
as mentors. We’ve created the first industry facing database of Indian & diaspora
women & non-binary filmmakers, investing in research into industry practices & encouraging
skills share between members. We’re also providing access to industry events that
can spur professional growth. We have set up social media groups and listservs that
amplify opportunities for group discussion and for funding, distribution, and amplification
of each others’ work in order to provide entry of voices with lived experience of
our global challenges into the larger documentary field. Our hope is that this deep
focus on our community will lead to introducing the larger audiences to authentic
work by underrepresented filmmakers.
Bitchitra Collective is a secular and inclusive network dedicated to the values of
equity, justice and diversity. Many of us are also members of the larger collective
of Brown Girls Doc Mafia – an initiative advocating for 4500 women and non-binary
people of color working in the documentary film industry around the world. We aim
to be a support group of South Asian audio-visual artists that creates opportunities
for collective growth.
“Bitchitra Collective: Indian Women in Documentary.” Bitchera Collective. Accessed
May 15, 2023. https://bitchitracollective.org/about-us/.
