Nilanjan Bhattacharya

Nilanjan Bhattacharya is a filmmaker, artist, writer, and scavenger of knowledge from Kolkata, India. For many years, he has been exploring Indigenous knowledge on biodiversity and food in India and has produced several films and installations. Twice (2005 & 2010) he received the National Film Award of India. His works have been widely exhibited in India and internationally.

Nilanjan’s 2023 work, a three-channel video installation, Who Looks at Whom, is part of a permanent exhibition at the GRASSI Museum für Völkerkunde in Leipzig. His new work, a video and text installation titled "Forest As Hypermarket––Hypermarket As Forest", is part of the exhibition "Assembling Grounds. Practices of Coexistence".

Nilanjan writes about food and Kolkata’s public culture. He lives between Leipzig and Kolkata.

His hands-on training in narrative filmmaking at the beginning of his career, and later, his long-continued practice of making documentaries and writing have influenced the way he conceives, develops, and realizes his works. He has developed an inclination to produce works that involve an interplay between narrative and non-narrative visual and audio representations and texts—both fiction and non-fiction. Whether it is a documentary, installation, or performance, most of his recent works typically dwell on the intersection between reality and abstraction, extending an invitation for the audience to engage. For a long time, he has been exploring and making works on Indigenous knowledge of biodiversity and food in India. In recent years, he has focused on producing works and undertaking art and cultural projects that foster a dialogue between urban and Indigenous resource practices and related knowledge.