Payal Kapadia Joins South Asian Filmmakers To Nurture Documentary Talent

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India-West News Desk

LOS ANGELES, CA – Fresh off her Grand Prix win at Cannes for ‘All We Imagine as Light,’ acclaimed filmmaker Payal Kapadia has joined the newly launched Doc Producing South, a pioneering creative lab designed to support and mentor emerging documentary producers across South Asia.

The initiative will run from September 1–5 in New Delhi and aims to strengthen the backbone of nonfiction cinema through a long-term, peer-led mentorship model.

Kapadia underscored the emotional and professional demands of nonfiction work to Variety, saying producing it “can be a long and lonely journey. With Doc Producing South, we hope to provide a space where knowledge can be shared and a support system can emerge for documentaries still in progress.”

Doc Producing South is co-founded by Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan, and includes a powerhouse collective of South Asian filmmakers: Oscar nominees Shaunak Sen, Rintu Thomas, and Sushmit Ghosh; cinematographer-producer Ranabir Das; filmmakers Arya Rothe and Arun Bhattarai; and film programmer-turned-producer Anu Rangachar. Together, they aim to foster a new generation of creative producers equipped with the tools and insight to shape powerful, independently driven films.

The lab will select six producer-director teams working on feature-length documentaries. Participants will engage in intensive sessions on financing, budgeting, distribution, and rights negotiation, followed by continued online mentorship through July 2026, Variety said.  

With backing from institutions like Niv Foundation, Goethe-Institut, and Institut Français, the program is now accepting applications through June 15.