Rashmi Lamba
India Council Chair,
Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
An active associate of the Geena Davis Institute since 2014, Rashmi initiated and developed the first Global Symposium on Gender in Media to be held by GDI outside the US in Mumbai in 2016. The Symposium was held at the first edition of the FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry) FLO Film Festival, themed on women empowerment and gender sensitivity, spearheaded by Rashmi as the Festival Director, in partnership with UN Women, ITVS – Women & Girls Lead Global, Colors, Hindustan Unilever and the Films Division of India. In 2018, Rashmi organised the FICCI FLO Film Forum to enable increased employment of women in film productions in Tier 2 cities across India.
Rashmi has worked as Industry Director, Festival Producer and Jury Manager at International Film Festivals in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Toronto. In India, at the prestigious and popular ‘MAMI Mumbai Film Festival’, Rashmi initiated and managed the Mumbai Film Mart to promote Indian feature films in non-traditional global territories and spearheaded the MIFF HUB as a B2B platform for documentaries, shorts and animation films at the ‘Films Division of India – Mumbai International Film Festival’ (MIFF).
Widely travelled and having held senior positions as a Producer and Director in international production studios, advertising agencies and television broadcast networks, Rashmi set up her own film and media production companies in Mumbai, Dubai and Toronto. Her documentary, ‘Begumpura’ (The Wives Colony), commissioned by OMNI-Rogers Media, Canada is repeatedly broadcast across the network. The film traces the empowerment of immigrant South Asian married women living alone with their children in Canada, but who have traditionally never been out of a male shadow.
As an Impact Producer, Rashmi is an Advisor at Good Pitch India and promotes cause led films like ‘Jhalki’ to end child trafficking, inspired by the Indian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Kailash Satyarthi. She is on the Advisory Board with MAVA (Men Against Violence and Abuse) for the Samabhav Travelling Film Festival, to sensitize young men and women through the gender lens. A Creative Advisor with the 1st Wench Film Festival, Rashmi curated films by female directors, initiated discussions on the need for ‘Intimacy Coordinators’ on Indian Film Sets and stories to be told in first person by LGBTQI writers and actors.
A Mentor with Aspire For Her, Rashmi is working towards using the GDI mantra ‘If She Can See It, She Can Be It’ to inspire young schoolgirls. As a Founder Member of WIFT Brazil, she is actively coordinating a partnership with the Canada based BANFF SPARK Accelerator for Women in Business of Media.
A graduate in Philosophy and Social Communications Media, Rashmi is currently developing her next documentary project, ‘Devis, Damsels & Divas’ that turns the gender lens on Bollywood.
