Shantanu Goswami
Festival Director Founder & Festival Director, MANCH
Having lived and worked across South Africa, Libya, Venezuela, and the UK, Shantanu Goswami has spent a lifetime observing the quiet, profound realities of migration and human connection. As an immigrant, the concepts of home, identity, and belonging form the foundation of his creative vision.
As an active filmmaker, Shantanu approaches cinema as a creative laboratory. Through a wide array of experimental film projects, he dives deep into themes of racial justice, cultural crossover, and human resilience — work that produced his internationally acclaimed short film, Second Chances, which captured multiple awards on the global festival circuit.
Driven by a passion to build a home for bold, unapologetic indie cinema, Shantanu founded and led the MANCH Film Festival. Following a landmark 2025 edition, MANCH established itself as the best-attended short film festival in the UK outside of London — proof of the immense audience demand for diverse, ground-breaking, boundary-pushing storytelling.
Beyond the screen, Shantanu brings over 25 years of global leadership in technology consulting and artificial intelligence, having advised major international corporations across Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering, an MBA from Manchester Business School, and is a certified messaging and storytelling coach with Corporate Visions Inc. Based in Manchester with his family, Shantanu continues to champion independent voices and lead MANCH as a premier platform for global cinema.
