Bishnu Dev Halder
Directing
Biography
A National Award winning writer, director and producer, Bishnu completed his Postgraduate Diploma in Cinema, specializing in Direction and Screenplay Writing, from Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), an academic institution under Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India. Selected for Talent Campus India, organized by Berlinale Talent Campus, in 2007, Bishnu was awarded the UK Environment Film Fellowship in 2010. Bishnu’s films include Shukranu, Bagher Bachcha, Pratyabartan, I was Born in Delhi, and The Diary of a Refugee and have won numerous awards including National Film Award, Nomination at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) and Opening Film in Indian Panorama at International Film Festival of India (IFFI). Supported/produced/co-produced by Sundance Institute, Japan Broadcasting Corporation/NHK, British Council, British High Commission, Films Division, Government of India, Public Service Broadcasting Trust; Bishnu’s films have been telecast on National Geographic, NHK, YLE, and Doordarshan, among others. Ram Ji Ka Ghoda, his debut feature film script was selected as one of the six projects for the Drishyam | Sundance Screenwriters Lab 2016. Bishnu’s debut feature fiction film as director, Shukranu, also written by him, was produced by Reliance Entertainment. Bishnu’s debut feature fiction film as producer, Mangta Jogi, is readying for release. Bishnu has been the Head/Director Programming – DocedgeKolkata, Asian Forum for Documentary, from 2010 – 1018. Bishnu has also been the jury member of the National Film Awards, Docaviv International Film Festival, National Students’ Films Awards, among others. Bishnu has conducted numerous workshops/classes and been part of sessions as industry expert/guest faculty at various institutions including FTII, SRFTI, IIT Bombay, Mumbai University, and Manipal University among many others.
Known For
Set in Delhi/UP/Haryana, SHUKRANU is a comic take on the darkest phases of Indian democracy through the encounters of a would-be groom who is forcefully sterilized just days before his much-awaited marriage.
Shukranu
Ghasita (28) returns to his village, on the outskirts of Varanasi, from the city of Kolkata after 10 years, only to find his family in poor financial condition. His elder brother, Shambhu, struggles to meet the needs of the family which consists of his elderly mother along with his wife and son.
Mangta Jogi
Two sisters run away from marriage in their remote village to the city for a new life only to discover marriage to be their only path towards a secure and respectable future six years later.
I Was Born in Delhi
The uncertainties of life in the filmmaker's village, shot over a period of five years through the stories of his sister and her neighbours, threatened by the ever-expanding, land-hungry industries. Screened at Delhi and Mumbai.
The Diary of a Refugee
A story of Shyamal: a runaway, a pickpocket & a tiger's cub.