IFFI 2017 International Cinema Catalogue

PANEL DISCUSSION
The Power of Story Telling - Creating New Groups for Communities
Online and Offline
Creating new Groups for Communities On and Offline presented by Observer Research Foundation (ORF) which is a not-forprofit,
multidisciplinary public policy think tank engaged in developing and discussing policy alternatives on a wide-range of issues
of national and international significance. Some of their key areas of research include international relations, defence, security,
politics and governance, resources management and economy and development. Its mandate is to conduct in-depth research,
provide inclusive platforms and invest in tomorrow’s thought leaders today. The panel will be moderated by Mr Samir Saran, Vice
President, Observer Research Foundation.
Moderator Samir Saran, VP, ORF
Samir Saran is the Vice President of Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi. He spearheads ORF’s outreach and business
development activities. He curates Raisina Dialogue, India’s annual flagship platform on geopolitics and geo-economics, and
chairs CyFy, India’s annual conference on cyber security and internet governance.
Samir is a frequent commentator on issues of global governance (climate change and energy policy, global development
architecture, cyber security and internet governance) and on India’s foreign policy. Samir is Commissioner, The Global Commission
on the Stability of Cyberspace, and member of the South Asia advisory board of the World Economic Forum as well as part of its
Global Future Council on Cybersecurity. He is Director of the Centre for Peace and Security at the Sardar Patel Police University,
Jodhpur, India.
Nishikant Kamat
Nishikant Kamat, born and raised in Mumbai, started his career as an actor and director in theatre. He then worked in television for
a decade. He made his debut as a big screen director with the Marathi film Dombivali Fast, which he later adapted for the Tamil film
Evano Oruvan. In 2008, he made his Hindi debut with Mumbai Meri Jaan. The film had an ensemble cast of R. Madhavan, Soha
Ali Khan, Irrfan Khan, Paresh Rawal and Kay Kay Menon. His next release was Force in 2011. Kamat returned to Marathi cinema
in 2014 with Lai Bhaari, starring Riteish Deshmukh. In July 2015, he collaborated with Ajay Devgn for the film Drishyam. He has
made two other films – Rocky Handsome, his second collaboration with actor John Abraham, and Madaari, starring Irrfan Khan.
Raja Krishna Menon
Raja Krishna Menon is an Indian film writer, director and producer. He was born in Thrissur, Kerala, where he spent a major part of
his childhood. He is the son of Malayalam actor T.P. Madhavan. He started as an advertisement director and later moved to feature
films. He has directed Bollywood films like Chef and Airlift. His first film, Bas Yun Hi was among the first of wave of independent
films made in Mumbai. His second film Barah Aana was received with rave reviews, travelled to many international film festivals
and won many nominations and awards.
Anna Louie Sussman
Anna Louie Sussman is the art market editor at Artsy, where she covers the intersection of cultural production economics. She
was previously a correspondent at The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, the editor and senior writer at WomenintheWorld.org,
and the arts editor at The Daily Star in Beirut, Lebanon. In 2015, she was the lead researcher and writer for Melanne Verveer and
Kim Azzarelli’s Fast Forward, a book that makes the moral and business case for why we must advance women across the global
economy. She has over a decade of experience writing on gender, social issues, and the arts.