Women in Film India (WIF India) has announced the launch of the Producers Network Scholarship in partnership with the Marché du Film, Cannes Film Festival, and supported by Jio Studios, the media and content arm of Reliance Industries Ltd.

According to a PTI report yesterday, WIF India will select mid-career women producers to participate in the Producers Network Breakfast series at the Marche du Film, scheduled to take place from May 13 to 18 in Cannes.

The scholarship builds on WIF India’s Cannes debut last year, when the organisation supported three women producers — Rucha Pathak, Tillotama Shome and Dimpy Agarwal — to participate in the same platform.

Jio Studios’ President Jyoti Deshpande said, “We believe the future of cinema is being shaped by more inclusive voices, and at Jio Studios, that belief has translated into consciously backing women storytellers, both behind the camera and in front of it – because representation isn’t just about who we see on screen, but who gets to build what we see.

“The Producers Network at Cannes is where global film conversations and collaborations begin, and we want to see more Indian women producers in those rooms, building, leading, and taking their stories to the world.”

 According to Oscar-winning producer and one of the moving forces behind WIF India, Guneet Monga Kapoor the Producers Network had given her some of the most “formative learning as a producer” — the connections, the perspective, the sense of what’s possible on a global scale. “I want that for my peers. With this scholarship, we’re making that access real for women producers who are ready for it,” she gushed.

A Variety report quoted WIF India’s Development and Programming head Rabia Chopra as saying the organization was “delighted to welcome Jio Studios on board from this year onwards” and added that the collaboration with the Cannes Film Market reinforces “the mission we are building together.”