WIF India Announces Scholarship for Women Producers at Cannes

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 12 March 2026

• WIF India provides a scholarship for two emerging women producers
• The scholarship gives access to the Cannes Film Festival's Marché du Film
• The objective is to assist women in showcasing their films at international festivals

Women In Film India (WIF India) has announced that the Marché du Film is accepting applications for their program in an ongoing initiative to promote women filmmakers on International Women’s Day.

This program will grant two emerging women producers from India scholarships to attend the film market at the Cannes Film Festival.

"At Women in Film India, we believe that every day is Women’s Day," said Guneet Monga Kapoor, founder of WIF India.

"This cohort continues our commitment to providing real opportunities for women producers from India to access the global arena. International festivals have been instrumental to my own success, and we want to ensure that many more women can take their stories and projects to these international festival markets."

This program follows WIF India’s first appearance at Cannes in 2025 when it provided Cannes Producers' Fellowships to new women producers from India as part of its first delegation to attend the Producers Network.

“The partnership between the Marché du Film and WIF India through impACT Lab is an important step in supporting emerging women producers from India," said Alexandra Zakharchenko, Head of Industry Programs at Marché du Film. "Our goal is to assist them in growing their businesses and building their professional networks through market experience.”

He also emphasized the fact that “impACT Lab is committed to supporting a new generation of producers passionate about developing films in a sustainable way, both in terms of production and storytelling approaches, as well as the complexities of the global landscape.”

The WIF India Scholarship for the impACT Lab Scholarship is intended to open doors for women producers to develop socially impactful stories and engage with the international co-production landscape.

Rabia Chopra, the Programming and Development Head at WIF India, said “The impACT Lab at the Marché du Film provides a platform for mentorship, access, and exposure. There are many women producers in India who are facing challenges in engaging meaningfully with the international co-production landscape. It is a great opportunity for us to open doors and brings impactful stories from Indian women producers to the international community.”

The two women producers selected will be a part of a hybrid program consisting of online workshops in April and May 2026. The program will conclude with the participation of the women producers in the Producers Network. This will include access to networking events, breakfast meetings with key industry leaders, and workshops with global decision-makers.

Women in Film India are a non-profit organization based in India. It works towards promoting gender equality in the film, television, and digital media industries across India. The organization is a part of Women in Film Los Angeles.

The call is open to women producers from India who has produced at least two short films. The producers must be developing their first feature film. The applicant must submit a pitch deck consisting of a director’s note, producer’s note, synopsis, treatment, budget, and previous work.