The Knowledge Series consists of specially curated presentations, lectures and panel discussions with key decision makers and market drivers of the film industry.
Over multiple sessions during the four days of WAVES Film Bazaar, the Knowledge Series covers a wide range of topics including (but not limited to) the evolution of content through changing socio–economic structures, genre expansion, traditional and innovative distribution platforms, various emerging co-production opportunities, international collaborations and treaties, and the art of navigating various festivals and film markets.
Among the speakers are business unit heads of major media corporations (studios/producers/distributors etc.), top executives of organizations connected with the film industry, independent aggregators and content providers from across the world.
| Timings | Topic | Moderator |
| 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM | Open Pitch : Co-Production Market Documentary Projects |
Emcee and WFB team |
| Open Pitch : Co-Production Market Feature Projects | ||
| 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM | Lunch | |
| 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM | Open Pitch : Screenwriters' Lab Projects | |
| 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM | Open Pitch : Waves Film Bazaar Recommends Projects |
| Timings | Topic | Moderator | Panelist 1 | Panelist 2 | Panelist 3 | Panelist 4 | Panelist 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM | AI and Cinema: Between Creative Possibility and Ethical Boundaries |
Wonsun Shin |
Sten Saluveer |
Sanjay Ram |
Maciej Zemojcin |
||
| 11:15 AM - 12:00 PM | The Creative Boom: Inside India’s Film, AVGC & OTT Revolution |
Nimish Raut |
Nick Tripodi |
Ashish Kulkarni |
|||
| 12:15 PM - 01:00 PM | Preserving the Past: Film Restoration and Archives |
Prakash Magdum |
Muzzafar Ali |
Shivendra Singh Dungarpur |
|||
| 1:15 PM - 02:00 PM | LUNCH | ||||||
| 02:00 PM - 2:45 PM | Cinemascape Uttarakhand: Stories in the Mountains |
Yashasvi Juyal |
Dr. Nitin Upadhyaya |
Priyanshu Painyuli |
Arfi Lamba |
||
| 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM | Discovering Madhya Pradesh Through a Global Lens |
Naman Ramchandran |
JUAN MANUEL |
Sheo Shekhar Shukla |
|
|
|
| 3:45 PM - 4:30 PM | Designing the Future: The Evolving Skillset of the Creative Workforce |
Vijay Vikram Singh |
Charuvi Agrawal |
Chegondi Satyanarayana Murthy |
Mahima Kaul |
Lt. Col. Vikram Singh Bhati |
|
| 4:45 PM - 5:30 PM | Beyond Borders: The Economics of Filming in New Zealand |
Annie Murray |
Chris Payne |
Phillipa Mossman |
Te O kahurangi WAAKA |
||
| 5:45 PM - 6:15 PM | Meet the World’s Happiest People and Explore Finland’s Film & Games Industry |
Dr Abhay Kumar Sinha |
Vesa Jutila |
Pauliina Piipponen |
Alisha Hasan |
Jani Joenniemi |
| Timings | Topic | Moderator | Panelist 1 | Panelist 2 | Panelist 3 | Panelist 4 | Panelist 5 |
| 09:45 AM - 10:30 AM | Global Frames, Shared Visions: Building Creative Corridors |  Patrick Frater |
 Thabisile Mthethwa |
 Jacqueline Rainers |
 Ravi Kottarakara |
 Bobby Bedi |
 Tarina Patel |
| 10:45 AM - 11:30 AM | India and the World: New Frontiers in Co-Production Finance |  Ilann Girard |
Anil Arjun |
Guneet Monga |
 Gitika Aggarwal |
 Garth Davis |
- |
| 11:45 AM - 12:30 PM | Light, Camera, Culture: IGNCA’s Visual Pilgrimage across India |  Namita Sachdeva |
 Dr. Chandra Prakash Dwivedi |
 Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi |
Anurag Punetha |
Abhay Mishra |
- |
| 12:45 PM - 01:30 PM | Maharashtra as Film Destination: Opportunities and Insights | 
Santosh Pathare |
Umesh Kulkarni |
Swati Mhase Patil |
Prashant Sajanikar |
Suhrud Godbole |
- |
| 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM | LUNCH | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Rooted in Region: Bihar's Emerging Cinema | 
Komal Nahta |
 Abhay Sinha |
Vineet Kumar |
Vikas Kumar |
 Ruby |
Pranav Kumar |
| 3:45 PM - 4:30 PM | The Future is Watching: Youth Audiences, Media Literacy & Ethical Storytelling (HOSTED BY UNICEF) |  Smriti Kiran |
 Prithul Kumar |
 Cynthia McCaffery |
 Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari |
 Mitu Bhowmick |
- |
| 4:45 PM - 5:30 PM | ‘Bringing AI and Creativity together to CRAFT stories that inspire’ - In conversation with Shekhar Kapur and Sujay Sen. | 
Sujay Sen |
Shekhar Kapur |
- | - | - | - |
| 5:45 PM - 6:15 PM | India and Japan - A strategic partnership in business and soft power. |
Presentation |
Takashi Suzuki |
- | - | - | - |
| Timings | Topic | Moderator | Panelist 1 | Panelist 2 | Panelist 3 | Panelist 4 |
| 9:45 AM - 10:15 AM | Jammu-Kashmir: Where every frame breathes magic | Presentation |
Nitish Rajora |
|||
| 10:30 AM - 11:15 AM | Cinematic Foundations: A Dialogue Between India’s Film Schools |
Umesh Kulkarni |
Dhiraj Singh |
Ninad Raikar |
Meghna Ghai |
|
| 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM | Capturing the Unspoken: Matt & Lee on Immersive Cinematography |
Rajdeep Choudhury |
Matt Lewis |
Lee Brown |
||
| 12:15 PM - 12:45 PM | From Screen to Storyteller: Rachel Griffiths Reflects |
Mitu Bhowmick |
Rachel Griffiths |
|||
| 1:00 PM - 1:45 PM | LUNCH | |||||
| 2:00 PM - 2:45 PM | The Micro Drama Economy: One of the fastest-growing content categories worldwide |
Naman Ramachandran |
Tarun Sawhney |
Vijay Koshy |
Dennis Ruh |
|
| 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM | Changing Windows: Redefining the Future of Film Distribution |
Mayank Shekhar |
Devang Sampat |
Ashish Singh |
Manish Menghani |
Aparna Purohit |
| 4:15 PM - 5:15 PM | Imagining Tomorrow: India’s VFX Revolution |
Rajiv Chilaka |
Ashwin Kumar |
Nitesh Tiwary |
Prasanth Varma |
|
| 5:30 PM - 6:15 PM | Of Beginnings, Middles & Ends |
Naman Ramachandran |
Sriram Raghavan |
| Timings | Topic | Moderator |
| 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM | Open Pitch : Co-Production Market Documentary Projects |
Emcee and WFB team |
| Open Pitch : Co-Production Market Feature Projects | ||
| 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM | Lunch | |
| 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM | Open Pitch : Screenwriters' Lab Projects | |
| 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM | Open Pitch : Waves Film Bazaar Recommends Projects |
| Timings | Topic | Moderator | Panelist 1 | Panelist 2 | Panelist 3 | Panelist 4 | Panelist 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM | AI and Cinema: Between Creative Possibility and Ethical Boundaries |
Wonsun Shin |
Sten Saluveer |
Sanjay Ram |
Maciej Zemojcin |
||
| 11:15 AM - 12:00 PM | The Creative Boom: Inside India’s Film, AVGC & OTT Revolution |
Nimish Raut |
Nick Tripodi |
Ashish Kulkarni |
|||
| 12:15 PM - 01:00 PM | Preserving the Past: Film Restoration and Archives |
Prakash Magdum |
Muzzafar Ali |
Shivendra Singh Dungarpur |
|||
| 1:15 PM - 02:00 PM | LUNCH | ||||||
| 02:00 PM - 2:45 PM | Cinemascape Uttarakhand: Stories in the Mountains |
Yashasvi Juyal |
Dr. Nitin Upadhyaya |
Priyanshu Painyuli |
Arfi Lamba |
||
| 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM | Discovering Madhya Pradesh Through a Global Lens |
Naman Ramchandran |
JUAN MANUEL |
Sheo Shekhar Shukla |
|
|
|
| 3:45 PM - 4:30 PM | Designing the Future: The Evolving Skillset of the Creative Workforce |
Vijay Vikram Singh |
Charuvi Agrawal |
Chegondi Satyanarayana Murthy |
Mahima Kaul |
Lt. Col. Vikram Singh Bhati |
|
| 4:45 PM - 5:30 PM | Beyond Borders: The Economics of Filming in New Zealand |
Annie Murray |
Chris Payne |
Phillipa Mossman |
Te O kahurangi WAAKA |
||
| 5:45 PM - 6:15 PM | Meet the World’s Happiest People and Explore Finland’s Film & Games Industry |
Dr Abhay Kumar Sinha |
Vesa Jutila |
Pauliina Piipponen |
Alisha Hasan |
Jani Joenniemi |
| Timings | Topic | Moderator | Panelist 1 | Panelist 2 | Panelist 3 | Panelist 4 | Panelist 5 |
| 09:45 AM - 10:30 AM | Global Frames, Shared Visions: Building Creative Corridors | Patrick Frater |
Thabisile Mthethwa |
Jacqueline Rainers |
Ravi Kottarakara |
Bobby Bedi |
Tarina Patel |
| 10:45 AM - 11:30 AM | India and the World: New Frontiers in Co-Production Finance | Ilann Girard |
Anil Arjun |
Guneet Monga |
Gitika Aggarwal |
Garth Davis |
- |
| 11:45 AM - 12:30 PM | Light, Camera, Culture: IGNCA’s Visual Pilgrimage across India | Namita Sachdeva |
Dr. Chandra Prakash Dwivedi |
Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi |
Anurag Punetha |
Abhay Mishra |
- |
| 12:45 PM - 01:30 PM | Maharashtra as Film Destination: Opportunities and Insights |
Santosh Pathare |
Umesh Kulkarni |
Swati Mhase Patil |
Prashant Sajanikar |
Suhrud Godbole |
- |
| 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM | LUNCH | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Rooted in Region: Bihar's Emerging Cinema |
Komal Nahta |
Abhay Sinha |
Vineet Kumar |
Vikas Kumar |
Ruby |
Pranav Kumar |
| 3:45 PM - 4:30 PM | The Future is Watching: Youth Audiences, Media Literacy & Ethical Storytelling (HOSTED BY UNICEF) | Smriti Kiran |
Prithul Kumar |
Cynthia McCaffery |
Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari |
Mitu Bhowmick |
- |
| 4:45 PM - 5:30 PM | ‘Bringing AI and Creativity together to CRAFT stories that inspire’ - In conversation with Shekhar Kapur and Sujay Sen. |
Sujay Sen |
Shekhar Kapur |
- | - | - | - |
| 5:45 PM - 6:15 PM | India and Japan - A strategic partnership in business and soft power. |
Presentation |
Takashi Suzuki |
- | - | - | - |
| Timings | Topic | Moderator | Panelist 1 | Panelist 2 | Panelist 3 | Panelist 4 |
| 9:45 AM - 10:15 AM | Jammu-Kashmir: Where every frame breathes magic | Presentation |
Nitish Rajora |
|||
| 10:30 AM - 11:15 AM | Cinematic Foundations: A Dialogue Between India’s Film Schools |
Umesh Kulkarni |
Dhiraj Singh |
Ninad Raikar |
Meghna Ghai |
|
| 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM | Capturing the Unspoken: Matt & Lee on Immersive Cinematography |
Rajdeep Choudhury |
Matt Lewis |
Lee Brown |
||
| 12:15 PM - 12:45 PM | From Screen to Storyteller: Rachel Griffiths Reflects |
Mitu Bhowmick |
Rachel Griffiths |
|||
| 1:00 PM - 1:45 PM | LUNCH | |||||
| 2:00 PM - 2:45 PM | The Micro Drama Economy: One of the fastest-growing content categories worldwide |
Naman Ramachandran |
Tarun Sawhney |
Vijay Koshy |
Dennis Ruh |
|
| 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM | Changing Windows: Redefining the Future of Film Distribution |
Mayank Shekhar |
Devang Sampat |
Ashish Singh |
Manish Menghani |
Aparna Purohit |
| 4:15 PM - 5:15 PM | Imagining Tomorrow: India’s VFX Revolution |
Rajiv Chilaka |
Ashwin Kumar |
Nitesh Tiwary |
Prasanth Varma |
|
| 5:30 PM - 6:15 PM | Of Beginnings, Middles & Ends |
Naman Ramachandran |
Sriram Raghavan |
Knowledge Series has become a platform that brings together a diverse section from the global film fraternity including writers, directors, producers, distributors, sales agents.
