Biography
Rumi is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Film and Media Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, working at the intersection of theory and practice. He holds a Master’s in Filmmaking from the London Film School (2016) and has worked as a cinematographer on numerous films across India, the United Kingdom, Japan, Bangladesh, and the United States. In 2024, he completed his MA in Film and Media Studies at UC Santa Barbara. His PhD research focuses on the histories and aesthetics of Indian experimental documentaries and postcolonial independent cinema, including found-footage and essay films, with a particular interest in the role of archives in documentary practice.
Recent Publication—
Bhattacharyya, Pratyush. “Is the World Really as It Appears in Art? Violence as a Civilizational Question in Ashish Avikunthak’s Vidhvastha.” In The Epistemic Archeology of Ashish Avikunthak: Cinema and Religiosity of Everyday Life, by Erin O’Donnell and Šarūnas Paunksnis, 145–166. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2026.
Recent Film Works—
The Killing of Meghnad (Meghnadbadh Kabya, 2026); Director: Ashish Avikunthak; Country of Production: India; Length: 93′; Feature, Drama; Language: Bengali; World Premiere: IFFR 2026 – Harbour.
Devastated (Vidhvastha, 2024); Director: Ashish Avikunthak; Countries of Production: Germany, India; Length: 86′; Feature, Drama; Languages: Bengali, English; World Premiere: IFFR 2024 – Harbour.
48000: Labour, Immiseration, and The Story Of A Strike (2023); Director: Pratyush Bhattacharyya; Countries of Production: USA, India; Length: 86′; Feature, Documentary; Languages: English; World Premiere: Sydney Lift-Off Film Festival — “Features” program (Nov 18–Dec 1, 2024); Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival — “Features” program (May 4–June 1, 2025). Winner: Award of Excellence, Documentaries Without Borders International Film Festival, June 20, 2025, USA.
Recent Exhibition—
Multimedia Installation Project: AI and The Art of Failure (2024), exploring the integration of AI in visual arts and photography. Showcased at SBCAST and Ealings Hall, UCSB (Media Arts and Technology 25th Annual Graduate Show), June 2024. Coverage: Joanne A. Calitri, Montecito Journal, July 9, 2024.