Neeraj Bunkar is a PhD scholar at the School of Arts and Humanities, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom. His research focuses on caste, Dalit identity, Rajasthani folklore, oral history, and cinema, with a particular emphasis on Rajasthan-based Hindi cinema from his standpoint as a Ambedkarite. His writings include the article “Spring Thunder: Adivasi Resistance for ‘Jal, Jangal, Jameen’” (2022) in the PostScript section and the book review “Subalternity at the Centre: A Young Diary Demands Radical Change” (2024), both published in Economic and Political Weekly. He also contributes regularly to platforms such as Forward Press and RoundTable India.

Pratik Parmar is an anti-caste filmmaker from Gujarat, renowned for his compelling narratives on Dalit dissent, deeply rooted in the heartlands of his home state. Since 2014, Pratik has been dedicated to filmmaking, shedding light on the often-overlooked stories of resistance and resilience within marginalized communities. His work amplifies ongoing struggles that are frequently ignored by mainstream media and cinema.

Prashant More is a filmmaker from a Dalit family and a first-generation learner. He graduated in Direction from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, where he honed his craft. His work has been showcased at several film festivals, including the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF), Bangalore International Film Festival, and the Indian Film Festival of Stuttgart, Germany. His feature screenplay was selected for the Writers Ink Feature Film Screenplay Writing Lab 2024-25. Based in Mumbai, Prashant explores themes of identity, caste, social issues, and human experience, aiming to bring diverse perspectives to the screen for both local and global audiences.

Palani Kumar, hailing from Jawaharlal Puram in Madurai, pursued engineering to fulfill his mother’s wish but found his passion in photography. While still a student, he took a loan to buy his first camera and later worked as a cinematographer for Kakoos, a documentary on manual scavengers in Tamil Nadu. His first photography exhibition, Naanum Oru Kullanthai, highlighted the lives of manual scavengers’ children. Since 2019, as a fellow of the People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), he has been documenting the lives of working-class women across India. He is also part of Pep Collective, a forum for socially responsible photographers. Recognized as one of Anandha Vikatan’s ‘Top Ten Humans 2019,’ he has received multiple accolades, including the Dayanita Singh-PARI Documentary Photography Award (2022). Kumar’s work was recently featured at the Primary Gallery in Nottingham, where he was invited to discuss his personal journey and projects addressing issues such as manual scavenging, “honour killings”, and the systemic exploitation of working-class and Dalit communities. Through his photography, he continues to amplify the voices of marginalized communities.

K.O. Akhil is an independent writer, director and cinematographer based in Mumbai. He holds a master’s degree in Cinematography from the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune (2018 batch), and has also studied at KRNNIVSA, Kerala. His artistic journey began at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), New Delhi, where he graduated with honours in Communication Design. His talent for visual storytelling emerged early in his career when his graduation project, a hybrid short film titled Incarnate Deity, which explores the mystical Theyyam ritual of Kerala, earned him the Best Communication Design Project Award in 2016 at NIFT Delhi.

Oneiric Odyssey (1 min, Swapnaayanam) traces the origins of Malayalam cinema, from the historic announcement of the first screening of Vigathakumaran (The Lost Child) in a rural village to the emergence of a new theatre in the city of Trivandrum. Through the courageous legacy of P.K. Rosy, Malayalam cinema’s first actress, and the struggles of the working class, the film crescendos with the unveiling of Lanka Lakshmi – the iconic symbol of IFFK, representing unity, cultural diversity, and the enduring strength of cinema.

Udmashan, a short film directed by Prashant More (5 mins, English), is a psychological thriller about a young writer chasing a lead on a rainy night who stumbles into a surreal nightmare in a decaying chawl. Strange figures blur reality, plunging her into darkness and madness. Truth or ruin—what awaits?

Ranjis, a short film directed by Prashant More (15 mins, Ahirani & Marathi): In rural India, 10-year-old Manoj endures caste oppression and family turmoil. His scavenger father’s rage and society’s cruelty push him to the edge. A discarded object becomes his escape—until a final, explosive act of defiance changes everything.

Project Heartland, a documentary directed by Pratik Parmar (44 Mins, Gujarati), captures the struggles of people from marginalized communities, primarily Dalits in Gujarat. It highlights the courage and determination of Dalit women and men as they assert their rights despite overwhelming odds. By documenting these stories of resilience, Project Heartland seeks to ensure that these brave individuals are known, recognized, and serve as an inspiration to others.

Shohini Barman is a doctoral candidate in the School of Arts and Humanities at Nottingham Trent University. She completed her BA and MA at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. Her PhD research focuses on Dalit literature in Bengal.

Lipika Singh Darai is an Indian filmmaker, editor, and sound recordist from Odisha. She graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in 2010, specializing in sound recording and design. Belonging to the Ho indigenous community, Darai has focused her work on socio-cultural themes, particularly those related to Odisha.  Throughout her career, Darai has received four National Film Awards in the non-feature section for direction, sound recording, and narration. Her debut film, A Tree a Man a Sea (2012), earned her the Best Debut Film of a Director award. She continued to explore pressing social issues in her subsequent works, such as Some Stories Around Witches (2015), which delves into the humanitarian crisis of witch-hunts in Odisha, and The Waterfall (2017), a short fiction film highlighting the struggle to protect a dying waterfall.  In 2023, Darai’s documentary Night and Fear premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in the Ammodo Tiger Short competition. She is currently developing her debut fiction feature, Birdwoman, which has received support from the Hubert Bals Development Fund. Additionally, she was recognized as one of the ten creative talents in BAFTA Breakthrough India 2023. Darai’s work is deeply rooted in the cultural and social landscapes of Odisha, reflecting her commitment to bringing regional stories to a broader audience. Her films often explore themes of social justice, cultural heritage, and the resilience of marginalized communities.

Seral Murmu is a filmmaker who graduated from the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. His films focus on tribal issues, identity, and the struggle for equality and justice. Through his work, he aims to strengthen the tribal resistance movements taking place across different parts of India. Belonging to the Santhal tribe, Seral Murmu was born and raised in Ghatshila, a small town on the banks of the Subarnarekha River. He began his journey in filmmaking by assisting documentary filmmakers while pursuing an undergraduate degree in Mass Communications at St. Xavier’s College, Ranchi, Jharkhand. During this time, he closely observed the power of cinema as a medium for change, which inspired him to become a filmmaker and share his own stories with the world. Ranchi has been an epicentre for tribal activists fighting for their rights and justice. Murmu became closely associated with these activists, collaborating with them and creating documentaries to amplify the voices of the unheard. As a cinematographer and editor, he has contributed to the making of eight documentaries and short fiction films. His short films Rawaah and Sondhayni have been screened and received awards at both national and international film festivals. He is currently working on a feature-length documentary about the history of Santhali cinema. Additionally, he has been commissioned to make two documentaries for the Ramdayal Munda Tribal Research Institute in Ranchi and is developing a feature-length Santali film. Murmu has a deep interest in tribal folklore, myths, arts, and folk songs, all of which serve as the foundation of his storytelling.

Mrigakshi Das hailing from Odisha, India, is a doctoral candidate at the School of Arts and Humanities, Nottingham Trent University, UK. She holds both a Master’s and a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Delhi, India. Her current research focuses on Adivasi literature, and her thesis is titled “Adivasi Literature and Cinema: Exploring Adivasi Alterity and Assertion”. Her areas of interest include Dalit literature, Adivasi literature, and decolonial and postcolonial studies.

Dr Nicole Thiara is Co-lead of Nottingham Trent University’s Postcolonial and Global Studies Research Group and Principal Investigator on the AHRC-funded Research Network Series ‘Writing, Analysing, Translating Dalit Literature’ and its Follow-on Grant ‘On Page and on Stage: Celebrating Dalit and Adivasi Literatures and Performing Arts’. She teaches postcolonial and contemporary literature at Nottingham Trent University, UK. Her area of research is Dalit and South Asian literature, and her current research project is the representation of modernity in Dalit literature. 

Dr Judith Misrahi-Barak is a Professor of Postcolonial Studies at Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, France, specializing in Caribbean, Indo- and Sino-Caribbean literatures, diaspora, and migrant writing. She has published widely, contributing to volumes such as Tracing the New Indian Diaspora (2014), Turning Tides (2019), and Windrush (1948) and Rivers of Blood (1968): Legacy and Assessment (2019). She is the General Editor of the PoCoPages series (Borders and Ecotones in the Indian Ocean, 2020). Her latest works include chapters on Edwidge Danticat (Bloomsbury Handbook, 2021), Sino-Caribbean literature (Caribbean Quarterly, 2021), and Kala Pani Crossings (co-edited, 2021). Her monograph, Entre Atlantique et océan Indien: les voix de la Caraïbe anglophone, was published in 2021. Her recent research explores Dalit literatures, having co-led AHRC projects on Dalit and Adivasi literature and performance (2014–23). She co-edited The Routledge Companion to Caste in Cinema in India (2022).

The Waterfall (21 mins, 2017, English) traces the evolution of a young city boy, Karun, to appreciate the value of the environment as well as think critically about climate change and development. On a trip to his ancestral home in the interiors of the state of Orissa in India, he reflects on the nature of his relationship with a beautiful landscape and its relationship in turn with his city life.

Sasandiri (40 mins, Mundari and Hindi) tells the story of the tribal rights movement in Jharkhand, following the work and struggles of prominent tribal activists from within the community. The title Sasandiri refers to a tombstone, which also serves as a landholding marker and record for the tribals. The film delves into the lives of these activists as they fight for their community’s rights, highlighting their struggles, challenges, and triumphs. It explores the complexities of advocating for land and cultural heritage, offering a glimpse into the history and significance of the tribal rights movement in Jharkhand.

Anjitha V P is a passionate filmmaker and writer from Kerala with an academic and professional background in cinema. She holds a BA from Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, and an MA from the University of Hyderabad. Anjitha has worked as a Process Associate at Genpact, Hyderabad, but her true calling lies in filmmaking. She has served as an Assistant Director in films like Pumpkin (short film directed by Meccartin) and Divorce (KSFDC-funded feature film directed by Mini IG). She also contributed as an Assistant Scriptwriter for the Malayalam film Nizhalazham (2022) directed by Rahul Raj. As a filmmaker, Anjitha wrote and directed the Malayalam short film Vyadhi, which received critical acclaim and multiple awards, including Best Short Film at KIFF – Kalinga 2023, Special Jury Mention at MediaOne Academy Film Festival 2023, and Best Screenplay at Kayal Sammelanam Short Film Festival 2023. Her journey in cinema reflects a deep commitment to storytelling and an evolving creative vision.

Rocky Mol Selvaraj is a South Indian visual artist originally from Pudukkottai and based in Nottingham. Her practice encompasses painting and photography, exploring her Dalit identity and personal experiences through various notions of skin. After earning an MA in Fine Arts from the University of Lincoln, she continues to examine skin and identity while dreaming beyond, incorporating surrealistic metaphors. For her, apples represent everything—her deepest fears, desires, hopes, the idea of love, family, home, beauty, equality—everything real and imaginary. Her works have been exhibited in various galleries across the East Midlands and are currently part of the exhibition Kolam at Primary, Nottingham. To read more about the artist’s practice, visit: Apples and People – Skin

Kalpana Ambedkar is a passionate filmmaker and multimedia professional with over five years of experience in filmmaking, video production, and programme organizing. With a strong commitment to social justice, her work focuses on thought-provoking narratives addressing caste, gender, and Dalit issues in Indian society. She holds a Master’s in business management (Finance) and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from NMCC, Marthandam. Beyond filmmaking, she pursues creative writing, curating talent, and event planning. Kalpana has directed the music video Thodaatha, produced by Bigson Records and released by Sony Music South. She is also an Assistant Director on Thandakaaranyam, a socio-political film by Athiyan Aathirai under Neelam Productions. As an Executive Producer, she collaborates with Arivu & The Ambassa, a Chennai-based multi-genre music band that amplifies voices for social justice. Previously, she played a key role in organizing Margazhiyil Makkalisai, a ten-day music festival by Neelam Cultural Centre and filmmaker Pa. Ranjith. With a deep passion for storytelling that challenges social norms, Kalpana continues to push boundaries in Indian cinema, using art as a tool for awareness and change.

Neeraj Bunkar is a PhD scholar at the School of Arts and Humanities, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom. His research focuses on caste, Dalit identity, Rajasthani folklore, oral history, and cinema, with a particular emphasis on Rajasthan-based Hindi cinema from a Dalit standpoint. His writings include the article “Spring Thunder: Adivasi Resistance for ‘Jal, Jangal, Jameen’” (2022) in the PostScript section and the book review “Subalternity at the Centre: A Young Diary Demands Radical Change” (2024), both published in Economic and Political Weekly. He also contributes regularly to platforms such as Forward Press and RoundTable India.

The short film Vyadhi(7 mins, Malayalam) by Anjitha V. P. follows two ladies who meet at a common service centre and become friends. However, as their conversation begins, everything starts to change.

The short film Break The Silence (40 mins, Tamil) is directed by Kalpana Ambedkar. In the deafening roar of textile machines, where sweat and suffering are woven into every thread, silence is the price of survival. Behind locked gates, countless young women endure unspeakable abuse—trapped, unheard, and forgotten. Break The Silence exposes the brutal realities of gender-based violence within these factories, where power preys on the helpless and fear keeps lips sealed. But one woman refuses to be another nameless victim. After enduring relentless torment, she runs—fleeing through the shadows, leaving behind friends who weren’t as lucky. With nothing but fear in her chest and the fire of survival in her heart, she fights her way home. Villagers become her shield, guiding her to safety. But the scars of her past refuse to fade. This time, she’s not running. She’s returning—not alone but armed with justice. With the help of a social worker, she storms the very place that once broke her. Twenty-five girls. Twenty-five stolen lives. Today, they walk free. This is not just a story of escape. It’s a story of uprising, of defiance—of breaking the silence, forever.

Neeraj Bunkar is a PhD scholar at the School of Arts and Humanities, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom. His research focuses on caste, Dalit identity, Rajasthani folklore, oral history, and cinema, with a particular emphasis on Rajasthan-based Hindi cinema from a Dalit standpoint. His writings include the article “Spring Thunder: Adivasi Resistance for ‘Jal, Jangal, Jameen’” (2022) in the PostScript section and the book review “Subalternity at the Centre: A Young Diary Demands Radical Change” (2024), both published in Economic and Political Weekly. He also contributes regularly to platforms such as Forward Press and RoundTable India.

Rupal Bansal is a Ph.D. candidate in English Literature at Nottingham Trent University, UK. Her research interests lie at the intersection of Night Studies, Partition Studies, and Violence, Trauma, and Memory Studies. Focusing on the phenomenological experiences of the night, her dissertation examines how acts of violence, migration, and remembering are structured within the ‘chronotope’ of the night in narratives about the Partition of India in 1947.

Purnachandra Naik is a researcher specializing in Dalit literature. He completed his PhD at NTU and is the author of the forthcoming Routledge book Reading the Rejected: Dirt in Dalit Literature. His research explores caste, marginality, and literary expressions of resistance. Naik has contributed extensively to journals and edited volumes, examining various aspects of Dalit narratives across literature and cinema. His works published in Economic and Political Weekly include Baby Kamble to Bama: Dalit Women Write Differently, “Baluta” and “Joothan” amid Humiliation, Sparks of Life amid the Dead, Roars of Dalit Audacity, and A New Note to the Polyphony. His book chapter Screening Caste: ‘Untouchable’ Body, Labour, and Remuneration in Lagaan appears in The Routledge Companion to Caste and Cinema in India (2022). He has also published The Luminous Voice of an Enslaved Character in Outlook (2024), Contemporary Shades of Kerala and Many Idioms of Caste and Untouchability in The Book Review. Additionally, his book chapter Studying Caste Up: Yashica Dutt’s Coming Out as Dalit is part of Subalternities in India and Latin America (2021). His scholarship critically engages with caste, humiliation, and assertion in Dalit narratives, offering nuanced insights into their literary and cinematic representations.

Soumik Hazra is currently pursuing his PhD, titled “In Search of the Decentred Other: Post-Millennium Hindi Crime Cinema and Its Expanded Terrains”, at the Cinema Studies Department, School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. He identifies as a cinephile with an avid interest in new media studies, film philosophy, genre studies, popular culture, and documentary cinema. His work has been published in the journal Widescreen.

Ajay Pateer is a filmmaker and a PhD candidate in Cinema Studies at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. As a researcher, his current focus lies in cyberactivism and the anti-caste movement. As a filmmaker, he is working in the documentary form.

Red Brick Battleground, a documentary film by Ajay Pateer and Soumik Hazra (125 mins, Hindi) documents the 2024 JNU Students’ Union election, student movements post-2016, and state-backed violence. Blending interviews, electoral coverage, and found footage, it captures JNU’s resilience and broader political realities.

Mahishaa is an Ambedkarite filmmaker based in Bangalore, whose work primarily focuses on urban Bengaluru. His films explore the intersections of caste, gender, and masculinity. He is the founder of Neelavarana, an Ambedkarite artist collective that produces short films, music videos, and documentaries centered on Bahujan stories, created by people from the DBA community. His works have been showcased internationally, including in Melbourne, Australia, Berlin, Germany, and other locations.

Dr Nicole Thiara is Co-lead of Nottingham Trent University’s Postcolonial and Global Studies Research Group and Principal Investigator on the AHRC-funded Research Network Series ‘Writing, Analysing, Translating Dalit Literature’ and its Follow-on Grant ‘On Page and on Stage: Celebrating Dalit and Adivasi Literatures and Performing Arts’. She teaches postcolonial and contemporary literature at Nottingham Trent University, UK. Her area of research is Dalit and South Asian literature, and her current research project is the representation of modernity in Dalit literature. 

Chandrashekara K. is a versatile talent in Kannada theatre and cinema—an international actor, director, filmmaker, and pedagogue specializing in movement and devising. He has participated in several international theatre experiments, traveling to countries like Japan, Germany, Lebanon, South Africa, and Switzerland. Chandrashekara has played lead roles in Kannada films such as Gavisiddha and Mahasampark and has directed innovative plays like Keri Haadu and Panchamapada. He holds a postgraduate degree from the Department of Performing Arts at Bangalore University and is a founding member of Jangama Collective. Committed to building theatre movements with marginalized communities and sexual minorities, he is also preparing a collection of his stories for publication. His current performance in the play Bob Marley from Kodihalli has further enhanced the production’s impact.

Ampee Panyang is a filmmaker and screenwriter from Arunachal Pradesh, currently based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She is a graduate of the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, specializing in Direction and Screenplay Writing. In addition to her filmmaking career, she is a film professor associated with several renowned film institutes in Mumbai.

Neeraj Bunkar is a PhD scholar at the School of Arts and Humanities, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom. His research focuses on caste, Dalit identity, Rajasthani folklore, oral history, and cinema, with a particular emphasis on Rajasthan-based Hindi cinema from a Dalit standpoint. His writings include the article “Spring Thunder: Adivasi Resistance for ‘Jal, Jangal, Jameen’” (2022) in the PostScript section and the book review “Subalternity at the Centre: A Young Diary Demands Radical Change” (2024), both published in Economic and Political Weekly. He also contributes regularly to platforms such as Forward Press and RoundTable India.

Babasaheb In Bengaluru (5 min, Kannada) by Mahishaa is a short film that showcases Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s statues in Bengaluru, which stand as powerful symbols of resistance and empowerment for marginalized communities. Unlike government-funded monuments, these statues exist through the people’s efforts, embodying his philosophy to “Educate, Agitate, Organise.” Each one tells a story of struggle, reminding millions to carry forward his vision of equality and justice.

Keri Haadu/Song Of Ghetto (33 min, Kannada)is a documentary film by Chandrashekara K. which documents the aftermath of a Dalit protest in Dindguru, Karnataka, sparked by caste discrimination. While their movement succeeded, the community now faces harsh consequences. The film captures their daily struggle, resilience, and survival as an act of resistance.

NON-AC (20:22 mins, Nepali and Hindi), directed by Ampee Panyang, is a short film that follows Maya and Jorge, immigrants from Nepal, as they struggle to make ends meet and survive in Pune, India. Often treated as outsiders, they grapple with the challenges of migration while finding solace in each other’s company. As their friendship deepens, it begins to take on a more profound meaning, rooted in the shared longing for a sense of ‘home.’ The film explores themes of migration, racism, xenophobia, and economic class differences that run deep in Indian society.

Osheen Siva is a multidisciplinary artist from Thiruvannamalai, currently based in Goa. Through the lens of surrealism, speculative fiction and science fiction and rooted in their Dalit and Tamil heritage, Osheen imagines new worlds of decolonised dreamscapes, futuristic oases with mutants and monsters and narratives of queer and feminine power.

Visit Osheen’s website and Instagram.

Jelena Sofronijevic is a producer, curator, writer, and researcher, who makes content at the intersections of cultural history, politics, and the arts. Beyond their works in print they are the producer of EMPIRE LINES, a podcast which uncovers the unexpected flows of empires through art, and historicity, a new series of audio walking tours, exploring how cities got to be the way they are, recorded on location in London (2022) and Tokyo (2023). Their full portfolio of work is available on their website, and social media.

Follow Jelena on Instagram – @empirelinespodcast, and on Twitter @jelsofron

Nicole Thiara is Co-Lead of Nottingham Trent University’s Postcolonial and Global Studies Research Group and Principal Investigator on the AHRC-funded Research Network ‘Writing, Analysing, Translating Dalit Literature’ and its Follow-on Grant ‘On Page and on Stage: Celebrating Dalit and Adivasi Literatures and Performing Arts’. She teaches postcolonial and contemporary literature at Nottingham Trent University, UK. Her area of research is Dalit, Adivasi and diasporic South Asian literature and her current research project focuses on the representation of modernity in Dalit literature.