We are celebrating after The Elephant Whisperers, directed by Kartiki Gonsalves and produced by Guneet Monga, won Best Documentary Short Subject at the 95th Academy Awards.
Oscar wins for The Elephant Whisperers
It is noteworthy that The Elephant Whisperers is the first Indian film to win an Academy Award in this category, following The House That Ananda Built and An Encounter With Faces.
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Guneet Monga expressed her happiness in a statement as India made history with its win. She said, “This is a historic and powerful moment for India. We, as two women from India, stood on that global stage and made history.” This film, this moment, and the amazing team at Sikhya Entertainment have made history by winning the Oscar for the first ever Indian film by an Indian production.”
“I am so grateful for Kartiki, who is such an amazing visionary. Netflix gave us the largest stage in the world and supported us and believed in us all along.” Guneet continued, “My heart is racing with joy, love, and excitement in the moment. The future for Indian cinema is audacious, the future is here, and not to mention, the future is truly female!”
Guneet shared a post on Instagram to celebrate their win – India’s first ever Oscar in an Indian production. She thanked her Mom and Dad, Guruji, Achin Jain, Team Sikhya, Netflix, Aloke, Sarafina, WME Bash Sanjana, husband Sunny and Kartiki for bringing this story together. In the caption she encouraged all the women watching by saying the future is here and it’s audacious – let’s go! Jai hind.
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As Monga’s first significant foreign production, the short film Kavi (2009), directed by Gregg Helvey, won the 2009 Student Academy Award – Narrative and was nominated for the 2010 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. The film was based on forced labour in India. Meanwhile, in 2008, she founded Sikhya Entertainment, her own production firm, and a line production company.
As a co-production between India, France, Germany, and USA, she produced the project The Lunchbox, which was shown at Film Bazaar (2011), Cinemart (2012), Berlinale Co-Production Market (2012), and TorinoFilmLab (2012). Monsoon Shootout, a project co-produced by India, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, was also produced by her.
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