Akanksha Damini Joshi is an Indian filmmaker, cinematographer, photographer and a meditation facilitator. She is also the co-founder of Center for Embodied Knowledge (CEK), a

nonprofit foundation A foundation (also referred to as a charitable foundation) is a type of nonprofit organization or charitable trust that usually provides funding and support to other charitable organizations through grants, while also potentially participating d ...

established to safeguard, protect, and promote the non-textual civilizational heritage of India.

Career

Joshi has made films on a range of topics: communal conflict,

ecological crisis An ecological or environmental crisis occurs when changes to the environment of a species or population destabilizes its continued survival. Some of the important causes include: * Degradation of an abiotic ecological factor (for example, incr ...

and spiritual philosophy. Her career began with documenting conflicts of Gujarat 2002 – ''Passengers: A Video Journey in Gujarat''. Then she took four years to make a film on ecological changes on the banks of

Chilika Lake Chilika Lake is the largest brackish water lagoon with estuarine character that sprawls along the east coast of Indian sub-continent in Asia and second largest coastal lagoon in the world, covering an area of over . It is spread over the Puri, ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

(formerly known as Orissa) (''Chilika Bank$: Stories from India's largest Coastal Lake''). She then made her film on climate change – ''Earth Witness: Reflections on the times and the timeless''. In 2014, Joshi made a film on Hindu philosophy – ''Hindu Nectar: Spiritual Wanderings in India'', inspired by Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’s work, for the Ministry of External Affairs,

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. Joshi's short film on the river

Ganga The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...

– ''Ganga: Ek Prarthana'', 2007 addresses the global issue of

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

through culture-specific symbolism.

Filmography

''Passengers'' (2003)

Joshi co-directed this feature-length documentary during and after the 2002 Gujarat riots. The film, completed in 2003, has been screened at the 9th Open Frame Festival. Five years later, Joshi came out with ''Profiles of Courage and Compassion'', a book she co-authored with Indian activist,

Harsh Mander Harsh Mander (born 17 April 1955) is an Indian author, columnist, researcher, teacher, and social activist who started the Karwan-e-Mohabbat campaign in solidarity with the victims of communal or religiously motivated violence. He is the Dir ...

titled, ''Towards Healing: Seeking Paths for Justice and Reconciliation in Gujarat''.

''Chilika Bank$'' (2008)

Joshi's first independent directorial debut came in 2008 with ''Chilika Bank$'', in which she covers over four decades of ecological crisis in Chilika, Asia's largest

Brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuary ...

lake. The film produced by

Public Service Broadcasting Trust The Public Service Broadcasting Trust is an Indian non-governmental organisation. It helps independent documentary film-makers to work free from commercial and political pressures. It hosts the annual Open Frame film festival in New Delhi ...

won the Livelihood Award at the CMS Vatavaran Environment and Wildlife Film Festival, New Delhi in 2009. It was recipient of the First Prize at 6th Jeevika: Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival. For highlighting the issues surrounding Chilika, Joshi was awarded the Karamveer Puruskaar, National Award for Social Justice and Citizen Action by the confederation of NGOs, iCONGO, in partnership with United Nations. Chilika Bank$ was screened in the Indian Panorama section of the 40th International Film Festival of India,

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

2009 in the non-feature film category. The film was an Official Selection at the Film South Asia,

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

in 2009, the Rodos EcoFilms International Festival,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

in 2010 and the 4th Samsung Women's International Film Festival,

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

in 2011.

''Earth Witness'' (2011)

Joshi's documentary on climate change, ''Earth Witness'', reflects on climate change through the narratives of representative tribes of four different ecosystems in 2011. The film has been featured in the book on the independent documentary movement in India, ''Filming Reality: The Independent Documentary Movement in India'' by Shoma A. Chatterji. The book analyses notable documentaries made over the last four decades, including those by iconic film-makers such as

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...

Mani Kaul Mani Kaul (25 December 1944 – 6 July 2011) was an Indian director of Hindi films and a figure in Indian parallel cinema. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) where he was a student of Ritwik Ghatak and later be ...

and

Anand Patwardhan Anand Patwardhan (; born 18 February 1950) is an Indian documentary filmmaker known for his socio-political, human rights-oriented films. Some of his films explore the rise of religious fundamentalism, sectarianism and casteism in India, while o ...

. The film won Best Film on Climate Change & Sustainable Technologies and the Best Cinematography awards at the Sixth CMS Vatavaran Environment and Wildlife Film Festival 2011. It was officially nominated for the Wildscreen Panda Award 2012,

Wildscreen Wildscreen is a wildlife conservation charity based in Bristol, England. The charity was founded in December 1987 from a Trust law, trust which had operated since 1982, with the initial aim of encouraging and applauding excellence in the produ ...

Panda Film Festival, Bristol. It was one of the three winners at the VIII Developmental Film Festival on Climate Change and Food Security, Dhan Foundation, Madurai.

''Hindu Nectar'' (2014)

Joshi's film on spiritual seekers – ''Hindu Nectar'' is produced by the Ministry of External Affairs, India. Joshi was awarded with the Best Director award at the International Film Festival of Prayag. Hindu Nectar has been screened at the International Festival of Yog, Culture and Spirituality,

Haridwar Haridwar (; ; formerly Mayapuri) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district. The city is s ...

and at the 14th Open Frame Film Festival.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joshi, Akanksha Living people Film directors from Hyderabad, India Lady Shri Ram College alumni Delhi University alumni Jamia Millia Islamia alumni 21st-century Indian people Indian documentary filmmakers Hindi-language film directors Indian women screenwriters 1976 births