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Shweta Ghosh

shweta-ghosh portrait
  • Industry Partnerships Co-lead (Film/TV)
  • Ethics Lead
  • Placements Academic Contact
  • Widening Participation & Outreach Co-lead

Areas of interest

I am a documentary filmmaker and researcher interested in onscreen representation and the politics of access to film production and creative processes. My work explores interdisciplinary and intersectional approaches to understand filmmaking, identity and cultural practices in India and the Global South.

I have previously directed and edited award-winning documentary films and undertaken written research on a range of themes such as the politics of food and cultural identity, oral history and memory, as well as disability and sexuality. I have also scripted and produced public interest spots for regional telecast and co-directed two short documentaries on environmental conversation, urban development and displacement.

My film practice research PhD project (2016-2021) explored the experiences of d/Deaf and disabled filmmakers in India, with the wider aim to aimed to recognise, support and amplify the work of d/Deaf and disabled practitioners within the creative industries. The project drew on methods from visual ethnography, reflexive film practice, and participatory and collaborative research to explore the socio-cultural and technological contexts within which the filmmakers develop their ideas and practice. An impact project (2022-23) aims to take forward the PhD outcomes and engage a wide range of stakeholders in reflection, debate and action to make filmmaking in India (technology, education and practices) more accessible and inclusive. The primary practice-based output, a feature documentary We Make Film, is currently in circulation via film festivals and public screenings.

Postgraduate supervision

I welcome enquiries from prospective postgraduate students on my research interests (disability and accessibility, Indian cinemas, community media, politics of food) as well as projects exploring film practice research methodologies.

Teaching

I convene and teach on practical modules on film/TV production and industry practices.

  • Introduction to Filmmaking: Year 1, BA (Convenor)
  • Creative Screen Practice: Year 2, BA (Convenor)
  • MACE Practical Projects and M. Res (film and project supervision)

I also teach on critical modules based on my specialisms in disability, documentary and Indian cinema:

  • Identity, Agency, Advocacy: Year 3, BA
  • Contemporary Documentary: Year 3, BA
  • Cities on Screen: Year 3, BA

Professional bodies/affiliations

  • Centre for Film Aesthetics and Cultures (CFAC), University of Reading, UK
  • British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies (BAFTSS), UK
  • Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association, UK
  • Women in Film and Television (WFTV), UK
  • Women Make Films, India

Selected publications

  • Ghosh, S. 2021. ‘The Disability and Filmmaking Community in Film Practice-as-Research: A Case of We Make Film’ in Many Voices, Many Worlds: Critical Perspectives on Community Media in India. Ullah, F., Monteiro, A. and Jayasankar, K.P. (eds.), New Delhi: SAGE Publications.
  • Ghosh, S. 2018. ‘Review: MPE-MeCCSA practice network symposium (2018)’, Media Practice and Education, Vol. 19 Issue 3, pp. 329-331, DOI: 10.1080/25741136.2018.1521046
  • Ghosh, S.  2013. ‘Eating Spaces, Resisting Creation’, SubVersions, (Tata Institute of Social Sciences), Vol. 1, Issue 1, pp. 87-121, URL: http://subversions.tiss.edu/?p=112.
  • Ghosh, S. 2012. ‘Performing Food: Changes, continuities and disjuncts in urban middle class cooking in India’, Food Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal (University of Illinois), Vol. 1, Issue 1, ISSN 2156-8960, pp. 15-26.
  • Developed an interactive module titled ‘Cuisine in Maharashtra’ for Sahapedia - an open online resource on the arts, cultures and heritage of India (2015): https://www.sahapedia.org/cuisine-maharashtra

Filmmaking

  1. We Make Film: on Disability, Creative Expression (Documentary, 80 mins)

    Director, Editor

    Produced by Shweta Ghosh in association with University of Reading

    Teaser: https://vimeo.com/639565622.

    For more information on the project click here, and follow project updates on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

  2. Steeped and Stirred, 2016: on the Politics of Tea Drinking and access for caste, class and gender minorities in India (Documentary, 52 mins)

    Director, Editor, Cameraperson

    Produced by Public Service Broadcasting Trust, New Delhi (PSBT-DD Fellowship)

    Commissioned for telecast on Doordarshan (DD), India

    Trailer: https://youtu.be/oAu29tYpCa0

  3. Chatkorichya Athvani (A Slice of Memory), 2015: on Regional Identity, Culinary Culture, Memory and the idea of home (Documentary, 45 mins)

    Director, Editor

    Produced by School of Media and Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai (Funded via the SMCS Early Career Film Fellowship supported via Jamsetji Tata Trust)

    Trailer: https://youtu.be/ZH0RaZTSbNY

  4. Accsex, 2013: on the intersections of Disability, Gender & Sexual Expression (Documentary, 53 mins)

    Director, Editor

    Produced by Public Service Broadcasting Trust, New Delhi (PSBT-DD Fellowship)

    Trailer: https://youtu.be/JHlZ96Yp26c

    Commissioned for telecast on Doordarshan (DD), India

    61st Indian National Awards presented by the President of India (2014)

    Special Mention – “For vigorously taking up the challenge of exploring sexuality in women perceived to be differently abled.”

  5. Breakin’ Mumbai, 2012: on the hip-hop dance form ‘breaking’ and access to spaces for leisure in Mumbai (33 mins)

Co-Director and co-editor (MA Final Media project)

Produced by School of Media and Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOA4KGvT6Iw

My films have been screened at various film festivals and public screenings in India, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Bosnia, Morocco and the UK, and won several awards.

Publications

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