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Shweta Ghosh

Shweta Ghosh, Lecturer in Screen Practices and Industries
  • Creative and Industry Connections Coordinator
  • Ethics (Film/TV)
  • Alumni Relations Coordinator
  • Facilities Support.

Areas of interest

I am a filmmaker and practice-based 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.

My ongoing practice-as-research PhD project explores the experiences of d/Deaf and disabled filmmakers in India, and the socio-cultural and technological contexts within which the filmmakers develop their ideas and practice. The project draws on methods from visual ethnography, reflexive film practice, and participatory and collaborative research.

The aim of the PhD project is to recognise, support and amplify the work of existing d/Deaf and disabled practitioners within the creative industries. It also intends to initiate reflection, debate and action amongst nondisabled practitioners on ableism and discrimination within the film industry and filmmaking practices, via my primary practice-based output – a feature documentary titled We Make Film.

I have directed and edited award-winning documentary films that cover a range of themes related to human rights and social justice. I have also scripted and produced public interest spots for regional telecast (on the issue of 'commons' and conservation in rural India) and co-directed two short documentaries (on community-based education and urban development and displacement in Mumbai).

Teaching

As a part-time member of staff, I teach on and convene a range of practical modules on film production, creative industries and industry pathways.

  • Introduction to Filmmaking: Year 1, BA
  • Creative Industries and Professional Development: Year 2, BA
  • Creative Practice (Film/TV): Year 2, BA
  • Practical Project (Film/TV): Year 2, BA
  • Practical Project: MA (Film project supervision)
  • Work Placements and Pathways: BA/MA (co-convened and co-taught).


I also teach on critical modules based on my specialisms in disability and the cinemas of India:

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

Professional bodies/affiliations

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

Selected publications

  • Ghosh, S. ‘The Disability and Filmmaking Community in Film Practice-as-Research: A Case of We Make Film’, Community Media in India: Contemporary and Critical Perspectives, Sage Publications (in press, 2020)
  • 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.
  • 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.

Filmmaking

  1. We Make Film: on Disability, Creative Expression (Documentary, 75 mins). Director, Editor. Upcoming Trailer and Release in 2020-21. Produced by Shweta Ghosh and the University of Reading
  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 3.
  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)
  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). 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.

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.

View a full list of awards, festival screenings and film synopses

View a list of film reviews and press coverage