Manoj Srivastava headed the International Film Festival of India, for Goa Government as the Chief Executive Officer, Entertainment Society of Goa till 2012. A Founder-Member of Extravagant India Film Festival, Paris, Manoj helped Jagran Film Festival grow to its current shape, form and size in 16 cities of India in the past five years. 

 

Earlier as Deputy Director, Directorate of Film Festivals, he headed the National Film Awards for eight years at the Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India he handled diverse areas like National Film Awards, Cultural exchange Programmes, Film Treaties, Indian Panorama selections, IFFI, Film Documentation, Media and Publicity planning for major events. With 18 years of experience handling over 140 film festivals to date, he was felicitated by the Governments of Poland and Russia. 

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In a career spanning 33 years, Manoj established Goa as a Film Destination by launching the concept of ‘single window clearance’ system for film shoots and executing it successfully between 2008-2012.  His efforts were hailed by Ernst & Young in its report titled ‘Roadmap for single window clearance for film production in India (2012). Some of Indian Cinema’s biggest films like ‘Chennai Express’, ‘Robot, ‘All is Well’, ‘Golmaal, ‘Singham’ and many others were shot in Goa during his tenure.

 

Trained at the Film & Television Institute of India, Pune, Manoj began his career with Doordarshan, India’s National Broadcaster. As a Producer with DD, some of his successful productions were ‘The Big Question’ with Journalist Karan Thapar, ‘Mirror of the world and many others. He has served on several international film festival juries and also as an Observer at the Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale), European Film Market in the years 2012 and 2013. He has delivered lectures in several institutions such as IIT Delhi, IIM Ahmedabad, FTII Pune, Amity University to name a few.

 

Graduate of Delhi University's Hans Raj College Manoj has directed over 200 films. He has won several awards for his films like Hum Panchhi Ek Daal Ke’, ‘Aloye Phera’ several reality Shows and TV magazine programmes. Some of his better known documentary films are ‘The Desert Festival’, ‘Zamana Kya Kahega’, ‘Dastaan e Dilli’, ‘Dilli Tha Ek Shahar’, ‘Caught in a Crossfire’, ‘Hari Om Hari’, ‘All Quiet on this Front’, ‘Ajeeb Dastan Hai Ye’, ‘The Way They Marched Ahead’, ‘Kargil- The Untold Stories’ (Series) and The Troubled Waters’.alumni

 

Manoj has been writing on cinema for over two decades for publications like the Times of India, The Hindustan Times, BNA Germany, Pickle, Lokmat, Navhind Times, Herald Goa, Screen etc.  His writings on Charlie Chaplin and Guru Dutt are considered landmark and quoted often. Recently he wrote a Book on the history of Indian Cinema “WIDE ANGLE: HISTORY OF INDIAN CINEMA” .

 

Ernst & Young have quoted him extensively in their report and also acknowledged his suggestion for creation of a National film commission.

 

"With over a thousand days of film shooting happening in Goa, suddenly the tiny western state has come in sharp focus globally. Whether it’s a Bond film or a Yash Raj production, film makers are making a beeline for a piece of the cake. The turnaround is sharp and sudden" - Afternoon DC

 

Manoj Srivastava is further credited with launching a popular brand, T20 OF INDIAN CINEMA, which invited response from 2 million people in 20 days as part of the 40th International Film Festival of India, Goa and marketed it effectively. It is the first ever rating of best films of Indian Cinema. Twenty of the Biggest directors and film critics also took part. He has also launched the SHORT FILM CENTER India’s first business platform for short and documentary films at the 39th International Film Festival of India, Goa, for young and upcoming film makers.