surbhi dewan
independent filmmaker
co-founder & producer at Painted Tree Pictures
Surbhi Dewan is co-founder & producer at Painted Tree Pictures, a New Delhi-based film production and distribution company. She is also an independent writer, director, producer & educator. Her notable independent documentary films include Trans Kashmir (2022), Daughter of Nepal (2018) and A Thin Wall (2015).
Surbhi is a mentor and founding member of 'Small Town Big Stories', a registered Trust aimed at supporting emerging documentary filmmakers from east and northeast India. She is an organizing member at Video Consortium, New Delhi Hub. She is also a member of Bitchitra Collective and the International Association of Women in Radio & Television, India chapter. Surbhi graduated with an MFA in film from Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, and received her BA degree in Political Science from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University.
Get in touch at surbhi@paintedtreepictures.com
filmography
There is Gold in Lhasa [90 mins, In-development]
Director: Surbhi Dewan
Producers: Jasmine Lovely George, Surbhi Dewan
Associate Producer: Aman Dhillon
The Night That Forgot To End [23 mins, Experimental Doc, India, 2025]
Directors: Surbhi Dewan, Nundrisha Wakhloo, Rustam Mazumdar, Biswajit Das, Farha Khatun
Presented by: Doorasth Collective
Trans Kashmir [62 mins, Doc, Kashmir (India), 2022]
Director & Producer: Surbhi Dewan
Watch now on:
Cinelogue (subscription)
Kanopy (for educational institutions & libraries)
Amazon Prime Video (UK & Ireland only)
An Open Sky [15 mins, Fiction, India, 2020]
Director, Producer, Editor: Surbhi Dewan
Watch now on:
ShortsTV
Green Chillies DTH
Daughter of Nepal [34 mins, Doc, US/Nepal/India, 2018]
Director & Producer: Surbhi Dewan
Watch now on: YouTube
A Thin Wall [65 mins, Doc, US/Pakistan/India, 2015]
Co-producer: Surbhi Dewan
recent highlights
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Doc feature in-development 'There Is Gold In Lhasa', selected for Docedge Kolkata, incubation lab & pitching forum, 2026
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Selected to produce short film for Reuters Screenocean Make Film History Challenge, in partnership with Sheffield DocFest, UK, 2025
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Doc feature in-development 'There Is Gold In Lhasa', selected for India Week Film Conclave's Co-Production Market, London, 2025
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Jury member, International Documentary Association Awards 2024, Short Documentary category
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Winner, Global Film & Media Initiative Award at Dhaka DocLab 2024, for Doc feature in-development 'I Fear My Tomorrow'
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Doc feature in-development 'There Is Gold In Lhasa', selected for Co-Production Market, NFDC Doc Film Bazaar 2024
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Fellow at Ethno Kino, Bern, Switzerland (Jan to July 2024)
awards
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DISHAKRITYA AWARD, Docedge Kolkata, for in-development project, 'There is Gold in Lhasa': Supported by Dishakritya Foundation to a woman filmmaker with artistic promise, Kolkata, 2026
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Jury Special Mention, Film Southasia, Kathmandu, 2024
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Freedom Filmmaker Award at SLFF, Kathmandu 2023
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Best Documentary Film, UK Asian Film Festival 2023
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Best Documentary Film, Pune International Queer Film Festival 2023
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Best Documentary Film, SiGNS Film Festival 2023
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Jury Mention, Cineaste International Film Festival, 2021
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Europe Asia Silver Award, Europe Asia Festival of Cinema 2021
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Best Script & Special Jury Mention, Siliguri Short & Documentary Film Festival 2021
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Best Short Film (International), Colombo International Women's Film Festival 2021
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Award of Merit, Canada Shorts 2020