BAFTA announces Breakthrough 2023 cohort across India, UK & USA for first time

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in partnership with Netflix, has today unveiled 10 upcoming individuals from the screen industries selected for BAFTA Breakthrough in India. In this historic first, BAFTA simultaneously introduces its UK, USA, and India participants, with 42 talented individuals selected globally.

The ten names for BAFTA Breakthrough India were selected by a distinguished jury of industry experts, including Jury Chair and BAFTA Breakthrough Ambassador Guneet Monga Kapoor (Producer, Founder & CEO, Sikhya Entertainment), Manvendra Shukul (CEO, Lakshya Digital), Monika Shergill (Vice President, Content – Netflix India), Rajiv Menon (Filmmaker), Naman Ramachandran (Critic & Journalist), Sid Roy Kapur (Founder of Roy Kapur Films & Producer), Shaunak Sen (Filmmaker) and Ratna Pathak Shah (Actor, Theatre Director).

The list of BAFTA Breakthrough India participants for 2023 is:

• Abhay Koranne | Writer - Rocket Boys 

• Abhinav Tyagi | Editor - An Insignificant Man 

• Don Chacko Palathara | Director/Writer - Joyful Mystery 

• Kislay| Writer – Soni

• Lipika Singh Darai | Director/Writer - Some Stories Around Witches 

• Miriam Chandy Menacherry | Producer - From the Shadows and The Leopard's Tribe  

• Pooja Rajkumar Rathod | Cinematographer - Secrets of the Elephants 

• Sanal George | Sound Editor/Mixer/Designer - Gangubai Kathiawadi

• Satya Rai Nagpaul | Cinematographer – Ghoomketu

• Shardul Bhardwaj | Performer - Eeb Allay Ooo!

Over the last two years, the BAFTA Breakthrough programme, in partnership with Netflix, has supported the cohorts in networking with global industry experts, including D.B Weiss (Producer, Director, Writer), Emma Lawson (BBC Comedy Commissioner), Howard Shore (Composer), Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Actress, Producer, Writer), and Vishal Gondal (CEO, GOQii, nCore Games), amongst others. 

The initiative has also opened doors for participants,  facilitating industry meetings with Chaitanya Hegde (Tulsea), Rob Carlson (United Talent Agent, US), Tarsame Mittal (TM Talent Management), and more. Breakthroughs like Jay Pinak Oza have received one-on-one mentorship from Mira Nair and Shonali Bose with potential collaborations in the works, while Karthikeya Murthy is working on a Hindi feature film, with multiple projects lined up in Hindi, Tamil and English.

Jane Millichip, Chief Executive Officer, BAFTA, said: “BAFTA Breakthrough is a gold standard programme. And the fact that we are celebrating our ten-year anniversary is testament to the dedication of our incredible alumni, industry supporters, juries, and industry advisers. I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has contributed over the years, and particularly to our partner Netflix. This year’s cohort is really impressive, having already achieved credits in high-end TV drama, debut films, documentaries, hair and make design; and game design. BAFTA Breakthrough is designed to harness that early success and develop the skills for life-long, rewarding careers. Congratulations to this year’s BAFTA Breakthroughs.”

Guneet Monga Kapoor, BAFTA Breakthrough India Ambassador and Jury Chair, said: “There is no shortage of creative talent in India as demonstrated by the previous two iterations of Breakthrough.  We had a tough time choosing ten deserving candidates from an enormous pool of fresh candidates. It will be exciting to see how they harness BAFTA Breakthrough's opportunities to hone their craft on a global stage.”

Monika Shergill, Vice President of Content, Netflix India said: “India has a wealth of emerging talent and we’re thrilled to be able to work with BAFTA on the BAFTA Breakthrough initiative to provide them an opportunity to be chosen. It’s truly rewarding to be able to empower these emerging creatives to showcase and enhance their skills. This year, we’ve identified an incredible group and we look forward to helping to nurture their talents and make this an enriching and once-in-a-lifetime moment for them.”

During the course of the year-long programme, the BAFTA Breakthroughs will receive professional development, industry meetings  and global networking opportunities with the academy’s 12,000-strong global membership, alongside free access to BAFTA events and screenings for 12 months and full BAFTA voting rights on the academy’s world-leading film, games and television awards. Further details are in the notes to editors. 

BAFTA’s flagship new talent programme celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. Since 2013, it has supported over 200 rising talents, including Aadip Desai, Arati Kadav, Charu Desodt, Florence Pugh, James LeBrecht, Jay Pinak Oza, Josh O’Connor, Karthikeya Murthy, Letitia Wright, Sumukhi Suresh, Tanya Maniktala, Tom Holland , amongst many others.

The list of BAFTA Breakthrough UK participants for 2023 is as below: 

• Adjani Salmon |Writer/Performer/Exec Producer – Dreaming Whilst Black (TV)  

• Bella Ramsey |Performer – The Last of Us (TV)  

• Cash Carraway |Creator/Writer/Exec Producer – Rain Dogs (TV) 

• Charlotte Regan | Writer/Director – Scrapper (Film) 

• Cynthia De La Rosa |Hair & Makeup Artist – Everyone Else Burns (TV)  

• Ella Glendining | Director – Is There Anybody Out There? (Film) 

• Funmi Olutoye | Lead Producer – ‘Black History Makers’ (Good Morning Britain) (TV)

• Georgia Oakley | Writer/Director – Blue Jean (Film)  

• Holly Reddaway | Voice and performance director – Baldur’s Gate 3 (Games) 

• Joel Beardshaw |Lead Designer - Desta: The Memories Between (Games) 

• Kat Morgan |Hair & Makeup Designer – Blue Jean (Film) 

• Kathryn Ferguson | Writer/Director – Nothing Compares (Film) 

• Kitt (Fiona) Byrne | 2D Artist/Game Designer - Gibbon: Beyond the Trees (Games) 

• Michael Anderson | Producer - Desta: The Memories Between (Games) 

• Pete Jackson |Writer/Creator – Somewhere Boy (TV) 

• Raine Allen-Miller | Director – Rye Lane (Film) 

• Rosy McEwan| Performer – Blue Jean (Film)  

• Samantha Béart | Performer - The Excavation of Hob's Barrow (Games) 

• Talisha ‘Tee Cee’ Johnson | Writer/Director/Presenter – Too Autistic for Black (TV) 

• Vivian Oparah| Performer – Rye Lane (Film)  

The list of BAFTA Breakthrough USA participants for 2023 is as below:

• Amanda Kim | Documentary Director - Nam June Paik: Moon Is The Oldest TV (Film) 

• Aminah Nieves | Performer - 1923 (TV)

• Apoorva Charan | Producer - Joyland (Film) 

• Cheyenne Morrin | Senior Games Writer - Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Games) 

• Edward Buckles Jr.| Documentary Director - Katrina Babies (Film) 

• Gary Gunn | Composer - A Thousand and One (Film) 

• Jingyi Shao | Writer & Director - Chang Can Dunk (Film) 

• Maria Altamirano | Producer - All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (Film) 

• Santiago Gonzalez | Cinematographer - Shortcomings (Film) 

• Shelly Yo | Writer & Director - Smoking Tigers (Film) 

• Sing J Lee | Writer & Director - The Accidental Getaway Driver (Film) 

• Vuk Lungulov-Klotz | Writer & Director - Mutt (Film)