Whistling Woods International (WWI) is India’s premier institute of Film, Communication, Creative & Performing Arts. Founded by one of India’s leading filmmakers – Subhash Ghai, WWI has been successfully delivering world-class education in all creative & technical aspects of the Media & Entertainment Industry since 2006.

The Hollywood Reporter has rated WWI amongst the Ten Best Film Schools in the world on multiple occasions. WWI has also been regarded as a Global Institute of Influence by Forbes in 2015. It has also been awarded the Best Institute for Creative & Performing Arts in India by FICCI (The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry) in 2019.

WWI’s primary campus is located inside Mumbai’s Filmcity complex and offers programs that vary from 1 to 4 years in duration catering to all the major specialisations of the Media & Entertainment industry. WWI offers undergraduate, postgraduate & diploma programs in Cinematography, Direction, Editing, Producing, Production Design, Screenwriting, Sound Recording & Design, Visual Effects, Animation, Game Design, Fashion Design, Visual Communication Design, Acting, Music Production, Composition & Performance, Advertising, Journalism, PR, Event Management and Sports & E-Sports Management.

The curriculum at WWI is a unique blend of theoretical and practical, ensuring that the education of the creative & technical aspects of an industry dovetail with the business aspects. The teaching methodology is designed to ensure that the students’ learning is collaborative and industry oriented. In addition to education, Whistling Woods International also has interests in research & development in emerging technologies & evangelising new tech workflows for the Media & Entertainment industry.

The full-time faculty of WWI is a body of academicians and renowned industry professionals. Further, WWI has regular guest lectures by leading Indian & international filmmakers, artists, actors, technicians, fashion designers and design professionals. Students at WWI have a unique opportunity to interact one-on-one with some of the most successful & talented professionals in the Indian & international Media & Entertainment industries.

WWI has partnered with one of India’s most reputed universities – the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) – a Category 1 University in the NAAC ratings – for all its Degree & Diploma programs, that vary in duration from 1 to 4 years. All WWI students receive TISS Bachelors & Masters Degrees.

These unique elements in the curriculum faculty & the teaching methodology have seen WWI’s alumni body show tremendous success over the past 18 years. Since its first batch graduated in 2008, WWI has graduated over 4000 students and almost all of them are gainfully self-employed or are employed with several leading organisations in the Indian & global Media & Entertainment industry.

From its inception, Whistling Woods has envisioned that technology would be the primary driver of change & growth in the Media & Entertainment Industry, and actively worked towards entering into technology partnerships with the world’s leading M&E technology corporations, like Apple, Adobe, Autodesk, Avid, Dolby, Epic Games, FoxConn Fraunhofer, Google (YouTube), HP, Intel, NVIDIA, Qualisys, Red Digital Cinema, Reliance Jio, Sennheiser, Sony, ToonBoom, Unity, Zeiss & many more.

Currently, WWI runs several Technology Development Labs in association with some of these global tech giants to evangelise and further the inclusion of emerging media into the education of students, and by extension, into the industry.

Sony Media Technology Centre (2011-present)
REDucation Lab (2015-present)
YouTube Space Mumbai (2015-2019)
FoxConn Media Lab (2016-present)
WWI Jio VR Lab (2018-present)
WWI Emerging Media Lab (2019-present)

In 2010, WWI was accepted as a full member of CILECT (Centre International de Liaison des Ecoles de Cinema et de Television) – a global association of film schools. In 2018, Whistling Woods International hosted the CILECT World Congress of Film Schools, making it the first time India has ever hosted such a prestigious event. WWI has student & faculty exchanges with many of the best film schools & creative arts institutions in the world, including international student co-productions and study-abroad programs.

In 2021, Whistling Woods’ Vice President & CTO – Chaitanya Chinchlikar – was invited to join the Global Board of Governors by the Society for Motion Pictures & Television Engineers (SMPTE) – the world’s foremost association of Media & Entertainment technologists. He is also the Education Co-Chair for the On-Set Virtual Production Rapid Industry Solution (RIS-OSVP) initiative launched by SMPTE to hasten the standardisation and proliferation of Virtual Production.

Adding to WWI’s global acclaim, in 2024, Meghna Ghai-Puri, President of Whistling Woods International, was accepted as a member of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (which hold the EMMY Awards), an honour that highlights her & WWI’s importance on the international M&E landscape.

Further, in 2024, Whistling Woods International & Chaitanya Chinchlikar were awarded The SMPTE Excellence in Education Medal, recognising his & WWI’s contribution to Media & Entertainment education, especially with respect to incorporate emerging technologies into the curriculum. Chaitanya is the first Indian and WWI the first Indian institution to win this extremely coveted award, which sits at the confluence of technology and education for the Media & Entertainment industry.

WWI has also undertaken key public policy contributions for several Central & State Government initiatives.

• WWI management & faculty have provided inputs for the National Education Policy 2020.
• WWI Chairman – Mr Subhash Ghai served as the Chairman of India’s Media & Entertainment Skill Council (MESC – Ministry of Skill Development), for many years till 2022.
• In 2010, WWI, on request by India’s primary High School Board (CBSE board – Ministry of Education) designed a Media Studies curriculum, teaching methodology for Media Studies subjects for the 11th & 12th grades.
• In 2022, the Government of India constituted a Task Force to write India’s first Policy for the Animation, VFX, Gaming, Comics & Extended Reality (AVGCXR) Industry. Whistling Woods’ Vice President – Chaitanya Chinchlikar served on the AVGC Task Force as Convenor of the Education section of the policy.
• Since 2022, WWI has been running the Film, Acting & Media (FAM) vertical in the Schools of Specialised Excellence (SOSE) initiative set up by the Delhi Board of Secondary Education – Delhi State Government. Under the same, WWI has prepared curriculum for and is teaching students foundational education in Film, Media & Acting from grades 9th to 12th, in several DBSE schools across Delhi.
• In 2024, WWI’s Vice President was nominated as interim CEO of the Indian Institute of Creative Technology (IICT) – India’s National Centre of Excellence for AVGCXR – being setup by the I&B Ministry in association with FICCI & CII.

WWI takes its Corporate Social Responsibility seriously. Whistling Woods has provided scholarships & free education to less-privileged students, with several students from various NGOs studying at Whistling Woods will a full fee waiver.

With the Mumbai campus well established, WWI is strongly looking at expansion both in terms of program verticals and campuses. WWI has launched its hybrid education platform – WWI Extension.

WWI is also at various stages of talks to establish additional campuses both within India and outside, in partnership with governments & like-minded organisations.