Shishir Jha is a filmmaker and educator based in Mumbai, born in Bihar, India, in 1988. A graduate of the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, in Film & Video Communication Design, his practice moves between fiction, documentary, and experimental forms, exploring the fragile relationship between landscapes, memory, and human intervention. His work often examines questions of environmental justice, displacement, cultural identity, and the unseen lives that exist at the margins of development.
In 2016, he received a Diploma in Filmmaking from EICTV, Cuba, under the mentorship of acclaimed filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, and later participated in a masterclass led by Victor Erice in Croatia. These influences continue to shape his contemplative cinematic language and observational approach to storytelling.
His debut feature, Tortoise Under the Earth (Dharti Latar Re Horo), premiered at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival and was internationally recognized at the Vancouver International Film Festival, where it received the Vanguard Award Honorable Mention. The film travelled to numerous festivals worldwide, establishing him as an important emerging voice in contemporary Indian independent cinema.
Alongside filmmaking, Jha has worked across research, writing, editing, cinematography, and media production, collaborating with broadcasters, NGOs, and independent film initiatives. His recent works, including Rivers of Memory and Meeting Rivers, continue his engagement with ecology, migration, faith, and collective memory. As an educator, he has taught at leading design and film institutions across India, including NID Ahmedabad,NID Assam...and currently serves as Adjunct Faculty at Symbiosis Institute of Design.
info@sid.edu.in
020-26557210