Women in Film India (WIF India), led by Academy Award-winning producer Guneet Monga Kapoor, has launched a new initiative called "The Resilience Playbook" to address the emotional challenges faced by women filmmakers in the Indian entertainment industry. This program aims to provide a supportive environment where women can develop coping mechanisms to manage the unique pressures of the film industry.
"The Resilience Playbook" is a six-week workshop series focused on mental well-being and emotional sustainability. The immersive program is designed to equip participants with tools to navigate the demanding conditions of the film industry, which is characterized by constant reinvention, rejection, and long hours. WIF India recognizes that while discussions around opportunity and representation have increased, the emotional toll of sustaining a career in the industry remains largely unexamined. The program specifically addresses the challenges faced by women in film, who often encounter systemic inequities and heightened scrutiny in addition to the common pressures of filmmaking.
The workshops are led by wellness practitioner and life coach Chetna Chakravarthy. They go beyond traditional self-care methods, focusing on building confidence, clarity, and self-worth as essential professional skills for creative longevity. The peer-driven format allows women filmmakers to restore balance and reconnect with their creative practice in a supportive environment. WIF India is subsidizing the workshops to ensure accessibility for participants.
Guneet Monga Kapoor emphasized the necessity of resilience for creativity to flourish. "We are an industry built on freelancers, a creative ecosystem that thrives on independent talent. But with that comes a great deal of uncertainty," she stated. "For creativity to truly flow, what one needs most is resilience. It is the core skill that allows us to endure, to adapt, and to carve out our place in this ever-changing industry".
The initiative was unveiled on the sidelines of the WAVES Film Bazaar, the market component of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa. The launch of "The Resilience Playbook" represents WIF India's broader mission to redefine empowerment in cinema. The organization aims to move beyond visibility and access to include balance, belonging, and the emotional foundation necessary for sustained creative work. By centering wellness as a foundation for artistry, WIF India continues to redefine what empowerment in cinema truly means: not just visibility or access, but balance, belonging, and the inner steadiness to keep creating.
WIF India is part of the global WIFTI (Women In Film & Television International) network, which has around 50 chapters working towards gender balance in the industry.
