Meenakshi Shedde, India and South Asia Delegate, Berlin International Film Festival, and independent film critic and curator based in Mumbai, has been invited by the 80th Golden Globe Awards as an International Voter. It is a milestone in India’s voting presence in prestigious international film circles, as Meenakshi Shedde is the only International Voter selected from India this year.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which gives the awards, has invited 103 new international voters from 62 nations worldwide this year. The idea was to double the number of voters and expand globally, while increasing diversity. The Golden Globe Nominations will be announced on Monday December 12, 2022 at 5am PT (December 12, at 6.30pm India IST). The 80th Golden Globe Awards ceremony with all the winners will air live on NBC on January 10, 2023 at 5pm PT/ 8pm ET. The HFPA, which has 96 members in over 55 nations, is one of the few awards ceremonies to recognise both motion picture and television achievements. The Awards are viewed in over 220 countries and territories worldwide.

Sharing her excitement to be the only Indian curator invited to vote for the 80th Golden Globe Awards Meenakshi Shedde says “I am absolutely honoured and delighted to be invited as a Golden Globes International Voter,”

She adds,“It’s a very prestigious platform, and also to be the only Indian invited from 103 new members in 62 nations, makes it all the more special. While I have been on the international juries of over 25 film festivals including Cannes, Berlin and Venice Film Festivals, it is the first time, as a Golden Globe International Voter, I’m looking at trying to tackle 345 feature films! It’s been a mind-boggling range of films. Every year, I’m used to looking at 250-350 South Asian films for the Berlin Film Festival, for whom I’m India and South Asia Delegate, but that is spread over some months. But the Golden Globes demanded highly concentrated energy and very little sleep. I’m grateful to FIPRESCI International (International Federation of Film Critics), and in India, for pre-selecting me. I’m curious if my tastes will match with the Golden Globes’ and predict the winners.”

About Meenakshi Shedde:

Meenakshi Shedde is a senior film journalist with 39 years of journalistic experience, writing about Indian, Bollywood, South Asian, American and world cinema, based in Mumbai. Winner of India's National Film Award for Best Film Critic, she has been a jury member at over 25 top film festivals worldwide, including Cannes, Berlin and Venice Film Festivals. She has worked for major media outlets, including Times of India, Mumbai (where she was Assistant Editor for 15 years); and has been freelancing for 25 major media globally and in India, since 15 years. The international media include Variety (US), Film Comment (US), Screen International (UK), Sight & Sound (UK), bfi.org.uk (UK), Cahiers du Cinema (France), Carte di Cinema (Italy), Busan International Film Festival catalog, biff.kr (Korea), rouge.com.au (Australia), and Asian Movie Pulse (online film magazine). In India, she been freelancing for 15 major media, including Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, The New Indian Express, India Today, Outlook, Mint Lounge, CNN-IBN, Sunday Midday, Film Companion, firstpost.com, quint.com, Forbes India (now defunct), and Cinemaya (now defunct). She has been writing a weekly column for Sunday Midday since 2014 (8 years), mainly on cinema. She has also written for/edited 21 books, mainly on cinema, including, Indian Cinema Beyond Bollywood: The New Independent Cinema Revolution, ed Ashvin Immanuel Devasundaram, Routledge/Taylor & Francis, UK, 2018; Au Sud du Cinema (Fonds Sud, France, 2004); Import Export: Cultural Transfer: India, Germany, Austria (Werkleitz Gesellschaft/Parthas Verlag, Germany, 2005); Shooting Women: *Behind the Camera, Around the world by Harriet Margolis, Alexis Krasilovsky and Julia Stein, (Intellect, USA, 2015); and India For a Billion Reasons, edited by Amit Dasgupta (Ministry of External Affairs), India, 2010F