Rintu Thomas is an Academy Award nominated documentary filmmaker and director producer from India, widely recognized for her work at the intersection of journalism, social justice, and storytelling.
She co directed Writing with Fire alongside Sushmit Ghosh, a landmark documentary that became the first Indian feature documentary to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film premiered at Sundance 2021, where it won both the Audience Award and the Special Jury Award in the World Cinema Documentary Competition, and later received a Peabody Award, marking another historic first for Indian documentary cinema.
Thomas is also known for her earlier works such as Timbaktu, which won the National Film Award for Best Environment Film, and Dilli, awarded Best Documentary at the Jaipur International Film Festival. Through these projects, she established a strong voice focused on environmental issues, urban transformation, and grassroots narratives.
She is the co founder of Black Ticket Films, an award winning production company through which she has directed and produced over 150 short documentaries. Her films have been screened at major international platforms including the United Nations Climate Change Conference and Lincoln Center, and have been featured in leading publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, and The Guardian.
Her work has received support from prestigious institutions including the Sundance Institute, Skoll Foundation, and Japan Foundation. In recognition of her impact and commitment to fearless storytelling, she was awarded the IDA Courage Under Fire Award.
Beyond filmmaking, Thomas actively contributes to the global documentary ecosystem as a mentor, jury member, and advisor for major international labs and organizations, including the International Documentary Association, IDFA Academy, and UNESCO film programs.
With Writing with Fire, she not only achieved global recognition but also redefined the possibilities of documentary storytelling from India, bringing marginalized voices to the forefront of international cinema.
