institutional showcase of Whistling Woods

2. Featured among the world’s best Film Schools
The Hollywood Reporter has rated
Whistling Woods International as one
of the 10 best film schools in the
world in July 2014, July 2013 and
August 2010.

3. WWI - Achievements
• Rated amongst the Ten Best Film schools in the world, in 2014, 2013 and 2010 by
The Hollywood Reporter.
• Rated in 2015 by Forbes as a Global Institute of influence.
• In 2015, Google partnered with WWI to set up India’s first ‘YouTube Space’ & ‘YouTube
Educator Lab’ for teaching content creation for digital.
• In 2015, Foxconn partnered with Whistling Woods to set up the FoxConn Media Lab to
promote content creation for digital platforms.
• In 2015, Red Cameras partnered with Whistling Woods to set up Asia’s first
RedEducation platform at Whistling Woods.
• In 2010, Sony partnered with Whistling Woods to set up the Sony Media Technology
Centre, focused on future tech for the Film & Media industries, including digital
cinematography

4. WWI - Achievements
• Unique Education – WWI offers education in key verticals for the first time ever in India,
namely:
o Producing – WWI started India’s first program for Producers (in 2006).
o MBA in Media & Entertainment – started India’s first MBA in Media & Entertainment (in 2008).
o Content Creation, Audience Development & Monetisation for Digital platforms – India’s only
institute running this Google-certified specialised training.
o 3D stereoscopic filmmaking – the only school to have a complete 3D stereoscopic filmmaking
pipeline, from camera to screen (since 2010).
o Media Studies at the high school level – WWI-created Media Studies programs have been rolled
out, through the CBSE Board, in hundreds of CBSE schools across the country (in 2010).
o India’s first undergraduate degree in Filmmaking, Acting, Screenwriting & Music – WWI has
launched, in association with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India’s first BSc / BA degrees
in Filmmaking, Acting, Screenwriting & Music.

5. WWI - Achievements
• Oscar-award winning alumni – 3 WWI Alumni were part of the Oscar Award winning
Cinematography & VFX teams for the ‘Life of Pi’.
• Serving the Indian Industry – WWI has graduated over 1500 students till date with over
95% gainfully employed at several leading Film & Media organisations in India &
overseas.
• Contributor to the central government’s skill enhancement mission through the Ministry
of HRD (TISS-SVE & CBSE) and the Skills Ministry (NSDC – MESC).
• CSR – Whistling Woods has provided scholarships & free education of over 4Cr to less-
privileged students over the past 8 years. WWI has also provided full-time career
education and undertaken workshops for children of several NGOs as part of its CSR
activity.

6. Management Team
Subhash Ghai – Chairman & Founder, WWI
Eminent film-maker for over 40 years and Chairman of Mukta Arts Ltd.
Meghna Ghai-Puri – President & Director, WWI
A graduate from Kings College, London. Has been instrumental in shaping WWI, and is
currently the President and the operational head of WWI.
Ravi Gupta - Executive Director & Dean, WWI
Former GM & MD of National Film Development Corporation, India for 11 yrs before
being the CEO of B4U Global & CEO of Mukta Arts Ltd.
Rahul Puri – Academic Head, WWI
Rahul Puri is currently the Managing Director, Mukta Arts Ltd, shepherding its
growth in the Production, Education & Exhibition businesses
Chaitanya Chinchlikar – Vice President, WWI
Multi-faceted career including Chartered Accountancy, Business Strategy & Consulting.
Founding member of WWI, is currently the Business Head & CTO.

7. A World-class Governing Council
Anand Mahindra - Chairman of the Governing Council
Vice Chairman & Managing Director – Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
Anil Harish
Advocate – DM Harish & Associates (Mumbai)
Ashok Misra
Former Director – Indian Institute of Technology, Powai (Mumbai)
Kiran Karnik
Ex-President - Nasscom
Purnendu Chatterjee
Founder & Chairman – The Chatterjee Group
Pradip Shah
Director – IndAsia Fund Advisors
Rahul Puri
Executive Director – Mukta Arts Ltd

8. Advisory Board
A.R. Rahman
Ashish Kulkarni
Ashutosh Gowariker
Ashvini Yardi
Brian Tellis
Dilip Cherian
Dilip Kumar
G. Krishnan
Hema Malini
Jabbar Patel
Javed Akhtar
Josy Paul
K. V. Sridhar
Kamlesh Pandey
Karan Johar
Krishna Mehta
Mahesh Bhatt
Mahesh Samat
Nagesh Kukunoor
Naseeruddin Shah
Neeta Lulla
Om Puri
Pradeep Guha
Rakeysh Mehra
Ramesh Sippy
Ranjit Barot
Ronnie Screwvala
Shabana Azmi
Shah Rukh Khan
Shiamak Davar
Shyam Benegal - Chairman
Eminent film-maker in Indian Cinema & National Awards winner

9. International Advisory Board
KANWAL REKHI
Entrepreneur & Management Guru, Silicon Valley
LORD DAVID PUTTNAM
Film Producer of Academy Award winning
‘Chariots of Fire’ & other Films like ‘Killing
Fields’, ‘Local Hero’, ‘Midnight Express’
SIR MARTIN SORELL
Founder & CEO - WPP Group
SIR CHRISTOPHER BLAND
Former Chairman – British Telecom & former
Chairman of the BBC Board of Governors
LORD BHIKU PAREKH
Centennial Professor London School of
Economics
DR. DEEPAK CHOPRA
Practicing Endocrinologist & Founding President of
American Association of Ayurvedic Medicine
SIMON RELPH
Former Chairman of the British Academy of Film &
Television Arts and is a governor of the National
Film and Television School
SANDY CLIMAN
Renowned Hollywood film producer. Has
produced films like Aviator & Miami Vice
CLARE WISE
UK Film Council – Former Director,
International Affairs
TREVOR GRIFFITHS
Global Media Professional & Head of
Photography at Bradford College
PARMINDER VIR, OBE
Award winning experience with BBC, ITV,
Channel Four and several others
DEREK WYATT
Member of Parliament – UK, Chairman
Associate Parliamentary
SUNIL THANKAMUSHY
Founder/CEO of DEEPBLUE Worlds Inc, an
online virtual worlds studio based in California,
USA.
JOAN VOGALESENG
President & CEO - ToonBoom
SHELLEY PAGE
Head of International Outreach for
DreamWorks Animation

10. WWI - Academic Structure
WWI School of
Filmmaking
WWI Actors
Studio
WWI School of
Fashion
WWI School of
Animation
WWI School of
Media &
Communication
WHISTLING WOODS INTERNATIONAL
WWI School of
Music
WWI Short
Course Unit
WWI Virtual
Academy**
WWI School of
Design
** Currently in the planning / testing stage

11. M&E Education in India
WWI’s goal is to cover the entire spectrum of
Media, Communication & Entertainment education in India
Media &
Entertainment
Media &
Communication
Design
High School Education
Undergraduate
Education
BA in Fashion Design, BA
in Visual & Comm Design
Higher & Technical
Education / Masters /
Post Graduate
Education
Short Courses /
Continuing Education
CBSE - Media Studies
BSc/BA in Filmmaking, Animation,
Music, BBA in Media & Communication
WWI Short Course Unit / TISS-SVE Short Courses / WWI Virtual
Academy
Diploma Programs in Filmmaking, Media
& Communication, Media &
Entertainment

12. Infrastructure
• Classrooms, Workshop
Rooms & Foundation Halls
acoustically treated with
projection & audio systems
• Acting, Dance, Yoga studios
• Music Rooms
• Fashion Pattern-making and
Grooming & Draping Rooms
• Make-up & costume rooms
• Prop & Costume storage
• Film, Text & Periodical
library
• Cafeteria
• ATM 5.5 acre campus - 150,000 sft. of built up
space

13. Technical Infrastructure
• 250-seater Audi with 4K 3D
projection & Auro 11.1 sound
• 40 x 60 Film Studio
• 40 x 60 Television studio with
a fully motorised lighting grid
• 20' x 35' Multi-purpose studio
• Sony & Red HDR 4k HD Digital
Cinematography Cameras
• 3D stereoscopic filmmaking
• 48 Track Recording Studio
• 96 Track, Dolby Digital
Surround Film Mix Theatre
• ADR & Foley suites
• Digital Audio Workstations
• Editing Labs & HD Edit Suites
• Animation & VFX labs
• FoxConn Media Lab
• Apparel Construction Machine
Room for Fashion

14. Faculty
Animation & VFX
HOD – Yusuf Mehta
Key Faculty
- Jasbinder Singh
- Avik Chakravarty
- Kshitiz Sharma
- Gaurav Trivedi
Media &
Communication
HOD – Laili Dutta
Key Faculty
- Meenakshi Upadhyay
- Meenakshi CV
- Utkarsha Kotian
Cinematography
HOD – Ashwini Kaul
Key Faculty
- Krishhnamurthy M
- Farida Mehta
- Manoj Peter
- Chandrashekhar Iyer
Direction
HOD – Binitesh
Baruri
Key Faculty
- Paresh Kamdar
- Abhijit Majumdar
- Indraneel Kashyap
Editing
HOD – Rajesh Parmar
Key Faculty
- Prashant Naik
- Suvir Nath
- Vivian Pimenta
- Mannu Thakur
- Parag Turalkar
Screenwriting
HOD – Anjum
Rajabali
Key Faculty
- Ashwini Malik
- Vikas Sharma
Sound Recording &
Design
HOD – Sudipta Basu
Key Faculty
- Rakesh Ranjan
- Bhaskar Roy
- Tunmay Bose
Acting
Chief Mentor –
Subhash Ghai
Key Faculty
- Arvind Pandey
- Arun Bali
- Nikita Sharma
Fashion
Program Head – Nisha
Chanda
Key Faculty
- Bijal Vora
- Bhalinda Bawa
- Rubina Gautam
Producing
HOD – Rabiya
Nazki
Key Faculty
- Anupama Bose
- Priyanka Joshi
Music
HOD – Sangeeta
Shankar
Key Faculty
- Vijay Kurien
- D Wood
Design
Program Head –
Milindo Taid

15. Guest Faculty
Rakeysh Mehra
Vishal Bharadwaj
Ashutosh Gowarikar
Rajkumar Hirani
Imtiaz Ali
Shimit Amin
Nandita Das
Vikramaditya Motwane
Shyam Benegal
R Balki
Govind Nihalani
Anurag Kashyap
Zoya Akhtar
Ritesh Sindhwani
Farah Khan
Sukhwinder Singh
Jaya Bachchan
Tigmanshu Dhulia
Nagesh Kukunoor
Vidya Balan
Shabana Azmi
Karan Johar
Kamlesh Pandey
Anil Kapoor
Pankaj Kapur
Gulzar
Farhan Akhtar
A snapshot of leading industry professionals who
regularly conduct master-classes at WWI

16. International Guest Faculty
Danny Boyle
Ashok Amritraj
Syd Field
Guillermo Navarro
Craig Caldwell
Claude Lelouch
Theo Angelopoulis
Leonard Goldberg
Oliver Assayas
WWI was set up with the goal of graduating a global film-maker, catering to a global audience. We
ensure, hence, that students are exposed to leaders from the international media industry.
Steve Barron
Shelley Page
Tom Abrams
Eric Reiwer
Trevor Griffiths
Dan Wolman
Julie Taymour
Eliot Goldenthal
Steve Ahern
An snapshot of the International Guest lectures
at WWI over the past few years

17. Where are our alumni working?

18. Technology Partners

19. Sony Media Tech Center @ WWI
• Sony has recognised WWI as a leader in the Film &
Media education sector in Asia and has set up, at WWI, a
Sony Media Technology Center(SMTC). This is the 3rd
such center globally and the only one that is in
partnership; the other two (in California & London) are
standalone centers.
• The SMTC focuses on new and emerging technology in
the fields of UHD Digital Filmmaking.
• Apart from equipping the SMTC with the latest
technology, Sony also stations on campus their key
technology experts from whom Whistling Woods students
& the Indian film industry & learns a great deal.
At the inauguration of the SMTC
Sir Howard Stringer - former
Chairman, President & CEO, Sony &
Mr Subhash Ghai - Founder &
Chairman, WWI

20. Whistling Woods & RedEducation
• Being the pioneer in digital cinematography education in India
(since 2006), over the years WWI has worked with RED to
conduct workshops for its students on HD Digital Cinematography
& usage of Red Cameras.
! In late 2015, the association took to the next stage with WWI becoming Red’s
first RedEducation partner in India
! Red has donated the institute their entire current high-end digital
cinematography camera range including the Red Dragon & the upcoming Red
Scarlet W & Red Weapon & for usage by WWI students in their projects.

21. Whistling Woods’ partnership with
• Google & Whistling Woods have associated to set up YouTube
Space Mumbai - the 7th global YouTube Space (India’s first).
• The space is also running the ‘YouTube Educator Lab’ (India’s
first) teaching content creation, distribution & monetisation for
digital platforms.

22. Whistling Woods & Foxconn
• Foxconn & Whistling Woods have
entered into a Memorandum of
Understanding to set up the
Foxconn Media Lab.
• The lab, set up in 2015, continues
to aid the training of students in
content creation for digital
platforms.

23. WWI’s Key Academic Partnership
The Tata Institute of Social
Sciences & Whistling Woods
International have partnered to
offer Graduate Degrees,
Advanced Diplomas & Diplomas
in Film & Media Education

24. Global Academic Affiliations
Griffith University
Deakin University
& Victorian College of
the Arts, University of
Melbourne
Principal Partners: Advanced Standing for Graduate and Postgraduate programs, Student Exchanges & Active Study Groups
In Line Partners: Short Customised Courses, Workshops , Sharing of Library Resources, Student Film Exchanges
Le Libera
Università di Lingue
e Comunicazione
Gobelins
Norsk Film Institute
Seneca
Syracuse
SVA
Escuela Internacional
de Cine y TV
Bermuda
College
Hochschule für Gestaltung
Offenbach
Leeds
LCC
Hertfordshire
RHU
Teesside
Bradford
Filmakademie
La Fémis
QUT
Chapman
La Universidad
del Cine
Simon
Fraser
University
Univ of
Calgary
African
Film & TV
Academy
AFTRS

25. Key Academic Affiliations
WWI is a FULL member of CILECT - an
exclusive global association of film schools.
There are less than 160 film schools that are
FULL members of CILECT.

26. Work with the Government of India – Education & Skilling
Ministry of Human Resource
Development
• WWI is the Media & Entertainment
vertical anchor for MHRD’s
Vocational education outreach being
undertaken through TISS.
• WWI has designed & written the
Media Studies curriculum for the 11th
& 12th grade of the CBSE board.
Skills Ministry - National Skill
Development Corporation
• Whistling Woods is a partner to
NSDC’s Media & Entertainment
Skill Council (MESC).
State Governments
• WWI has been advising several state
governments on how the state can
set up progressive policies for the
Film & Media education as well as
creative education as a whole.

27. Whistling Woods mission is to be
the thought leader
for Film & Media Arts globally!

28. Thank You!
Chaitanya Chinchlikar
Vice President
chaitanya.c@whistlingwoods.net
+91 22 30916030