Paolo Silvio Harald Favero
(Academician, Artist, Documentarian)
Advisor On-Board
He’s an Anthropologist and Artist with an interest for the meaning of images in human life. A former tourist guide, semi-professional tennis player and sing-a-song writer, he has found his home in the world of visual anthropology, in the fold between art and science. Born from a family of mixed descent, Paolo has lived his life in transition. Today he is based out of Belgium, where he is a Professor of Visual Anthropology and Cultures and Head of the Dept. of Communication Studies at the University of Antwerp.
Paolo’s key interest is the nexus between visual culture, care and existential matters. He does research on images, death and mourning but he is also active in the integration of emerging visual technologies and participatory techniques in the terrain of research, storytelling and documentary. He applies the same methods and tools in his pedagogy as well.
Paolo’s scientific publications span over a variety of topics and among them medical anthropology, globalization, tourism, visual methods, popular and visual culture. He is the author of 5 books, amongst which are “Image-Making-India: Visual Culture, Technology, Politics” (Routledge 2020) and “The Present Image: Visible Stories in a Digital Habitat” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018). He has directed a number of documentaries screened by Swedish and Italian national broadcasters and has authored several personal photographic exhibitions. In 2017 he launched a digital tool for supporting researchers in conducting emplaced participatory ethnographic work that has been listed by MIT’s DocuBase as a key tool for documentarians and researchers.
Nishtha Satyam
(Activist, Feminist, Economist, Diplomat)
Advisor On-Board
She was the Head of Office for Timor-Leste in UN Women, the entity of the United Nations that is dedicated to working towards Gender Equality and Woman's Empowerment in September 2021. She was the former Deputy Country Representative for UN Women in India and served as the Officer in Charge starting January 2018. As the youngest woman to head a country office for UN Women amongst 193 countries, Nishtha Satyam is an unapologetic feminist, a trained economist with a keen interest in applied macroeconomic and fiscal policy. In her long-standing career in the United Nations, she has managed the UN Women Office for a geo-politically diverse group of countries including India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka. Nishtha has also served as the Private Sector Partnerships Specialist with the Office of the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations and UNDP. Prior to her career with the UN, Nishtha worked with leading firms such as KPMG and American Express as an Economist. As a futurist and feminist, she is a loud advocate of the urgency to mainstream women across the marketplace, workplace and community. Nishtha serves on several national and international committees including the national committee to review CEDAW, the advisory board on programming on Artificial Intelligence of Global Policy Insights, the national committee to review Gender Budgeting, amongst many others. As a policy expert to Governments, Nishtha’s interest lies in the intersection of policy, politics and people to foster lasting change for the most marginalized. She is a well-known columnist with leading dailies in India and is currently working on a book that captures the 25 landmark judgements that changed the course of gender equality in India. Nishtha holds a Master's Degree in International Business from the University of Nottingham, UK and a Bachelors in Economics from Delhi University.
Ali Zaidi
(Photographer, Artist, Mentor, Cultural Activist)
Advisor On-Board
Indian by birth, Pakistani by migration and British by chance, Ali Zaidi uses his cultural displacement to celebrate commonalities and differences. He weaves strategies of connection and welcome. At once eclectic and holistic, he uses photography, film, performance, theatre, drawing, social media, food gatherings and healing, to explore connectivity. Zaidi’s art is a bridge between the rational and the emotional creating an intangible understanding of being.
Ali Zaidi co-founded motiroti in 1996 with Keith Khan, together they shared its artistic vision till 2004, later led as the Artistic Director for a further eight years. Zaidi regularly works freelance, and as a mentor specializing in relational aesthetics, audience development and branding; he contributes by being on committees and juries of cultural significance.
The works have been presented and experienced nationally and across the continents; in museums, galleries, proscenium arch theatres, universities, cinemas, parks, streets, sitespecific context, private homes, publications and online.
Manav Rath
(Thinker, Writer, Creator, Film Maker)
Managing Director
Manav loves to experiment with everything. After envious stints across some of the top advertising agencies in India, he has devoted himself to developing stories, scripts and films, focusing more on Features, Shorts and Series’. He also doubles up as a communication consultant for quite a few MNCs and Govt bodies, for whom he develops a wide array of Films and other Communication Tools.
His unique set of talents, or rather the combination of it, is what truly distinguishes him. An MBA in Advertising & Marketing, Manav is based out of New Delhi, and has been a part of quite a few feature and short film projects. He has also established top of the line films production setups in New Delhi and Bhubaneswar, and answers to all feature film related requirements through ‘Eleeanora Images’. Manav also manages a large bouquet of social media channels.
He has diverse interests in writing, music production and fusing traditional and popular cuisines. He has also won quite a few domestic awards for his advertising and communication campaigns.
Anuj Tyagi
(Director, Producer, Film Maker)
Director / Head of Production
Anuj Tyagi is an acclaimed Indian Film Director and Producer, who has garnered significant recognitions for his exceptional contributions to cinema. Renowned for his role as Co-Director on the critically lauded feature film “The Last Colour”, Anuj's work has captivated audiences across international film festivals, including the New York Indian Film Festival, Dallas International Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Indie Meme Film Festival. The film's accolades include the Best Feature Film award at the Dallas International Film Festival.
Anuj began his cinematic journey by assisting Dr. Nila Madhab Panda on the award-winning film “I Am Kalam”, which won dozens of International Awards and a National Award. His filmography also includes notable works such as “Jalpari”, “Kaun Kitne Pani Mein”, and “Kadvi Hawa”, the latter winning a National Award for its poignant exploration of climate change’s socioeconomic impacts.
A graduate in Film Production and Technology from the Sri Aurobindo Center for Arts & Communication (2010), Anuj’s passion for storytelling extends to documentaries, including “God’s Own People”. Narrated by the legendary Amitabh Bachchan, it explores the intersection of faith and environmentalism. His recent project as Associate Director, “Halkaa (Pichku’s Dream)”, has achieved critical acclaim, winning awards such as the Grand Prix De Montreal at FIFEM, the Kinolub Grand Prix, and Best Comedy Film at the Buff International Film Festival. His debut as a solo Director with “Bishwa”, has been celebrated at various international festivals, including the Buster Copenhagen International Film Festival and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Film Festival.