Abhishek Vijay Makhija

Abhishek Vijay Makhija is a documentary filmmaker with over two decades of experience creating factual content for leading broadcasters including National Geographic, Discovery Channel and HistoryTV18. His work spans diverse subjects; from sustainability and culture to enterprise and life across India, grounded in strong narrative structure and on-location authenticity.

His film The Last Drop: India’s Water Crisis has received multiple industry honours, with awards across the Indian Telly Awards, Indian Television Academy Awards, CMS Vatavaran and the Asian Academy Creative Awards. He has also received a Silver at The ABBY Awards 2025 for branded non-fiction content.

Mentor Quote

"What has increasingly troubled me is often the agenda of most films in the non fiction genre seems predetermined. Long before any meaningful on-ground recce is done, before a single frame is shot, sometimes even before the first conversation with the people whose stories are being told. We walk into projects with pre-shoot scripts already locked and client-approved.

We need push back. We need to recover the space for genuine discovery, exploration and allowing the story to reveal itself organically."

Karan Thapliyal

Karan Thapliyal is an award-winning cinematographer based in New Delhi with over 18 years of experience in documentary, ad and fiction filmmaking. His work spans collaborations with global organisations such as WHO, UNICEF, UNDP, UNESCO and WTI; broadcasters and OTT platforms including Netflix, National Geographic, Discovery, History Channel, The Epic Channel and CNA.

His credits include The Elephant Whisperers (2022), which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short and Writing with Fire (2021), a double Sundance award winner and India’s first Oscar-nominated documentary feature.

Mentor Quote

"I am drawn to the interconnectedness of human and environmental narratives and this visual storytelling can only be achieved through patient observation. What emerges is something that always surprises me."