Elroy Pinto

As a filmmaker my training has been a mix of academic research after completing my Masters in Global Cinemas at the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London, UK), and through pedagogical training in filmmaking and music. My research, writing, and moving image practice are tied to the diverse story-telling practices of pre-modern South Asian art forms such as Indo-Persian miniature painting, medieval religious architecture, and Gwalior Khayal music tradition. I have continued to evaluate and situate these inquiries in their historical, cultural, economic, and political realms.   

My first film, 'Kaifiyat' was centered on visualizing early modern poetic traditions by layering them with Khayal compositions and movement from contemporary dance. I am particularly interested in how religious and philosophical systems intertwine to create a gendered worldview, and how this can be seen through the works of cinema. 

My second film has taken me to research Buddhist epics and to examine whether its synthesis with Indian Marxism can offer a way of critiquing the caste-class ideologies of Hindutva nationalism. It is presently in post production. 

Since 2019, I have been writing essays about working-class Catholic culture and history in Bombay. Previously, I taught cinema at Wilson College (University of Mumbai, India) and have curated film programmes for TARQ, a contemporary art gallery in Mumbai .  

In years gone by I have worked in the digital culture of eSports. A sub-culture within the larger gaming framework. As a creative strategist I have provided direction and produced hundreds of story telling pieces through text and video for organisations like Fnatic and Level 99. 

My present research interests include sacred architecture, social stratification of the Catholics of Bombay, working-class history and culture, historical materialism, cultural theory, anti-caste works,  Heterodox (Nastika) South Asian epics, and the Indian New Wave Cinema.