ZEE has announced the launch of the Zee Short Film Contest, a pan-India, omnichannel initiative aimed at identifying, nurturing and celebrating emerging filmmaking talent across the country. The initiative is designed to build a future-forward content ecosystem rooted in culture, creativity and scale, while offering aspiring filmmakers a national platform to showcase their storytelling abilities.

According to a press release from Zee, the Zee Short Film Contest seeks to bring together distinctive cinematic voices from across regions on a unified national stage. The multilingual initiative spans seven key languages — Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada — enabling storytellers from diverse cultural and cinematic traditions to participate and gain industry exposure.

At the core of the contest is a high-profile jury panel comprising filmmakers who have significantly shaped their respective industries. The jury includes Anurag Kashyap for Hindi, Ravi Jadhav for Marathi, Srijit Mukherji for Bengali, Nag Ashwin for Telugu, Samuthirakani for Tamil, Lijo Jose Pellissery for Malayalam and Hemanth Rao for Kannada.

By bringing together leading industry voices under one platform, ZEE aims to position the contest as a structured talent incubator that reflects India’s linguistic and creative diversity. The initiative is expected to provide participants with mentorship from established directors, cash prizes to support their creative pursuits, and opportunities within the company’s broader content ecosystem spanning digital, television and theatrical platforms.

Commenting on the vision behind the initiative, Kartik Mahadev, Chief Marketing Officer at ZEE and ZEE5, said India is home to one of the most diverse storytelling cultures in the world, but access and visibility for emerging filmmakers has often remained fragmented. He noted that the contest aims to institutionalise opportunities at a national scale by creating an ecosystem where regional excellence meets national visibility, while strengthening India’s creative pipeline.

Members of the jury also encouraged aspiring filmmakers to participate, highlighting the contest as a platform to showcase talent and share original stories with a wider audience. Several filmmakers emphasised that passion, vision and love for cinema remain central to meaningful storytelling, while urging participants to use the opportunity to bring their creative ideas to life.

With the launch of the Zee Short Film Contest, ZEE continues to focus on culturally resonant storytelling backed by scale, credibility and innovation, marking a significant step towards building a national pathway for emerging creators and shaping the next generation of Indian filmmakers.