Mumbai, May 15 : Academy Award winner Guneet Monga's initiative, Women in Film India, is making its global debut at the Cannes Film Festival with the launch of a fellowship for producers, including Tillotama Shome.

The first initiative kicks off at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival ' a special program spotlighting three women producers from India.

'With WIF India, we're putting real structure behind the idea of equality - mentorship, access, and leadership pathways,' said Guneet Monga Kapoor, Founder of WIF India.

She added: 'This launch is just the beginning of a long term commitment in investing in women not just for today, but for the future of the Indian entertainment industry.'

Backed by Women In Film Los Angeles (WIF LA), WIF India joins a global coalition of over 50 chapters across six continents working to advance gender equity in the entertainment industry.

To commemorate its debut, WIF India is introducing The Women in Film India Fellowship: Cannes Producers Edition, a flagship program designed to elevate mid-career women producers by providing them with access to the Producers Network at the Marché du Film at Cannes.

This year's inaugural scholarship recipients include award winning actor Tillotama Shome, who has recently become a producer with a Bengali feature film, Baksho Bondi (Shadowbox).

Veteran studio executive and creative producer Rucha Pathak, who has worked on films like Paan Singh Tomar, Neerja, Barfi, and most recently Madgaon Express, and Dimpy Agarwal, an independent producer known for socially conscious storytelling'also a co-producer on Baksho Bondi and involved in award-winning films like Chashma, Umeed, and Monica O My Darling'are part of the initiative.

WIF India has also awarded an Accreditation Grant to an outstanding woman producer from the Marathi film industry, Shefali Bhushan, whose films Sthal is being showcased at the Cannes Film Market.

Kirsten Schaffer, Chief Executive Officer, Women in Film said, 'Our partnership with Women in Film, India marks an important step toward building a strong, interconnected community that supports women across all aspects of the screen industries.'

'This fellowship is a key part of the solution to ensuring that women have equal opportunity to create high quality film and television'.

WIF India is governed by a distinguished Board of Directors representing all facets of India's film and media ecosystem, including: Siddharth Roy Kapur, Karan Johar, Faye D'Souza, Anupama Chopra, Tahira Kashyap, Gauri Shinde, Nikhil Advani, Jyoti Deshpande, Gayatri Yadav, Aparna Purohit, Varun Grover, Kanika Dhillon, Vani Tripathi, Miriam Joseph, Ekta Kapoor, Twinkle Khanna, and Guneet Monga Kapoor.

/IANS