Academy Award Winning Producer Guneet Monga To Lead Women In Cinema At Cannes 2024

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MAY 17,2024

Guneet Monga, one of the esteemed producers who represented India on the global map with her incredible talent, continues to make the country proud with her work. She took the internet by storm after winning the Oscars for her ary, The Elephant Whisperers, in 2023.

After the Academy Awards, the Indian producer will now be making heads turn at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival 2024, as she is all set to lead the 'Women in Cinema' India chapter.

For the uninitiated, Guneet Monga has produced some exceptional films like Masaan, Soorari Pottru, The Lunchbox, and Gangs of Wasseypur, among others.

Guneet Monga at Cannes 2024

The popular Los Angeles initiative, Women in Films (WIF), is now launching an India chapter at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024. The news was revealed on Thursday as the prestigious event continues to go into full swing.

The Oscar-winning producer of The Elephant Whisperers will be headlining the India chapter of WIF at Cannes. The announcement was made at one of the events of the film festival's by Film Paris Region and WIF.

Women in Film and Television International (WIFTI) is an initiative that is committed to encouraging gender equality in the entertainment business, especially in Indian cinema.

Also Read: Guneet Monga On Why Lesser Indian Films Are Nominated For The Oscars


An advisory council of industry pioneers will be formed with artists representing across the country to support the promotion and advocacy of the initiative. While Women in Films, India, is an independent chapter, it will be collaborating with WIF Los Angeles, which happens to be the founding chapter of the WIFTI network.

The Cannes Film Festival 2024 turned out to be a landmark year for India, as many prominent faces will be walking the red carpet, including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Along with this, nine incredible films from across the country will be showcased in several strands, with the majority of them made by or by women. The list includes Payal Kapadia's 'All We Imagine as Light', the first Indian film to run in the competition in three decades.

The Women in Films segment will also see Bollywood actress Kiara Advani be a vital part of the segment as she represents India at Cannes for the first time.

Guneet Monga on headlining WIF at Cannes

After the announcement was made, the producer couldn't hold back her excitement and said a few words at the event. She recalled her journey from having male colleagues speak for her to representing women at one of the world's biggest film festivals.

Also Read: Kiara Advani To Attend Cannes 2024, To Be A Part Of Women In Cinema Gala, Deets Inside

Emphasizing gender equality in the entertainment business, Guneet also highlighted some shocking statistics.

'From being in rooms where male colleagues have had to communicate on my behalf so I'd be taken seriously to leading international co-productions and studio-scale projects, I've seen and been actively involved in the progress over two decades," Monga said.


She further added, "Yet comprehensive studies like the 'O Womaniya! 2023 Report' still suggest a lack of gender diversities across key filmmaking departments. The study of 156 films reported that only 12#37 of head-of-department positions were occupied by women.'

Concluding her speech, the producer said, 'Women are truly the future, and alongside WIF and WIF: India, we hope to tap into that limitless potential, building parity and opportunities for women seeking careers in the screen industries.'

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