Alfonso Cuarón, the man who dons multiple hats as a film director, screenwriter, producer and editor, has selected Indian filmmaker Chaitanya Tamhane, of Court fame, as his protégé in the Rolex Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative for 2016–17.

Spearheaded by Rolex, this program was launched in the year 2002 and pairs newcomer artists with established veteran apprentices in varied disciplines such as literature, music, architecture, visual arts, dance and theatre. This program is a creative collaboration of great masters and rising artists for a year, with an intent to help the apprentice achieve their full potential.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The acclaimed Mexican director is best known for for films such as Y Tu Mamá También (2001), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Children of Men (2006), Gravity (2013), among other notable films. His exceptional body of work, praised by critics and the audiences alike, has been nominated for about six Academy Awards, a couple of Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Directors Guild of America Awards. He is also renowned for the brilliant use of the ‘Continuous Uninterrupted Shot’ technique in his films.

The protégé Chaitanya Tamhane’s directorial debut, Court, a 2014 courtroom drama, was a masterpiece which garnered rave reviews and accolades from all corners. This film was first premiered at the 2014 Venice Film Festival and was also India’s official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars. Although the hard-hitting film did not make it the final list of Oscar nominations, Tamhane, was praised widely for the masterpiece that managed to win 18 other awards at various film festivals across the spectrum. His film has also been bestowed with the Best Feature Film Award at the 62^nd National Film Awards.

A string of other acclaimed mentors such as Martin Scorsese, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Zhang Yimou and Stephen Frears have served in the program.