Farhan Qureshi
RankedFictional“A documentary storyteller who makes room for second conversations, window seats and chai.”
Documentary Filmmaker at Small Window Films | Observational stories, field research & location sound · Mumbai · Established documentary filmmaker
Best fit
Aanya
mutual ♥
75
Fictional
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Simulated LinkedIn, as the agent received it
Headline
Documentary Filmmaker at Small Window Films | Observational stories, field research & location sound
About
I’m a Mumbai-based documentary filmmaker, usually working with small crews and enough time to return for a second conversation. At Small Window Films, I develop and direct nonfiction projects about work, neighbourhoods and the everyday changes people don’t always think to record. I’ve learned to keep the camera packed until we’ve had a proper introduction, and to take sound as seriously as the image. Between shoots, I make photographs on film, take the train when the schedule allows, and keep a notebook of chai places I mean to revisit.
Documentary Director & Producer · Small Window Films
2021-04 – Present
Develop and direct independent documentaries and commissioned nonfiction films with small location crews. Handle field research, contributor relationships, interview planning and edit supervision. Recent work includes a short documentary following repair workshops in Mumbai and a longer project on livelihoods along the Konkan coast.
Associate Director — Nonfiction · Monsoon Ledger Pictures
2016-07 – 2021-03
Researched and field-produced documentary projects across Maharashtra, Gujarat and Kerala. Coordinated local crews, conducted preliminary interviews and worked with editors to shape footage into character-led stories.
Production Assistant & Researcher · Paper Lantern Motion
2013-01 – 2016-06
Supported location shoots, maintained footage logs and prepared research briefs for nonfiction productions. Started recording location sound and conducting follow-up interviews as responsibilities grew.
St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai
Bachelor of Mass Media · Mass Media · 2012
Skills
Documentary Direction, Field Research, Interviewing, Story Development, Field Production, Location Sound Recording, Edit Supervision, DaVinci Resolve, Film Photography
Languages
English, Hindi, Urdu, Marathi
Post 1
2026-09-22
We went back to a repair workshop this week with a rough cut, a laptop and a pair of headphones. The owner spotted a sequence that made two separate jobs look like one. An easy edit to miss if you don’t actually do the work being filmed. We changed it. Showing contributors a cut isn’t about asking them to become editors; sometimes it’s simply checking that our neat timeline hasn’t made their day inaccurate.
Post 2
2026-06-17
A small field-production habit that has saved me trouble: I keep a separate page for what I don’t understand yet. Not potential scenes. Not interview questions. Just gaps. Who actually owns this tool? Why does the workshop close early on Thursdays? Is that silence discomfort, or is someone concentrating? On our current coastal project, those notes have been more useful than the first treatment. They give me a reason to ask instead of assume.
Post 3
2026-02-10
Logging sound from our last shoot today. Between the interviews: a kettle lid, a bus reversing, someone counting change off-mic. We recorded each location for a few minutes after packing the camera, and I’m very glad we did. Those recordings are helping the edit feel like the places we visited, rather than a row of clean sentences. If you’re planning a tiny documentary crew, please leave room in the day for sound that isn’t speech.
Post 4
2025-11-14
Finished a first screening of a short film we’ve been carrying around for months. Twelve people, borrowed speakers, one stubborn HDMI cable. The most useful feedback came from someone who said she couldn’t tell how much time had passed between two scenes. We’d watched the cut so often that we were supplying information the film didn’t contain. Back to the timeline tomorrow. Tonight, grateful for people willing to watch carefully and tell us where they got lost.
Simulated Instagram, as the agent received it
@farhan.contactsheet
Mumbai. Documentary films, 35mm stills, window seats. Usually stopping for chai.
76 posts · 1846 followers · 923 following
Post 1 · Mahim, Mumbai · 2026-09-27
Sunday in Mahim. Same stall, same order, a new argument about whether the rain has actually finished. I stayed for a second cup. The notebook remained closed.
Agent saw: Two glasses of chai, an open newspaper and a closed notebook sit on a stall counter overlooking a wet street with an auto-rickshaw.
Post 2 · Ratnagiri, Maharashtra · 2026-08-19
Mumbai to Mangaluru, with far too many photographs of the window. Took the train down a day before the recce. Somewhere after Ratnagiri I stopped checking the time. Came back with six pages of notes and one roll I’m slightly afraid to develop.
Agent saw: A person holds a notebook and pen beside a train window overlooking green fields, a river and mist-covered hills.
Post 3 · Parel, Mumbai · 2026-06-28
Collected the scans. This is the frame I nearly didn’t take: the workshop after everyone had left for lunch. We have hours of footage here, but I wanted one photograph just for myself. Posted with the owner’s okay.
Agent saw: An empty workshop contains a wooden workbench, fans, tools and a row of spanners beside an open street-facing doorway.
Post 4 · Chowk, Lucknow · 2026-04-16
Lucknow, between shoot days. Walked through Chowk with our local sound recordist, who had a very firm opinion about where we should stop for tea. He was right. I remembered the way back without opening the map, which felt like a small achievement.
Agent saw: Two cups of tea and a cooking pot sit at a street stall, with a person seen from behind and pedestrians along the lane beyond.
Post 5 · Mahim, Mumbai · 2026-02-22
My sister came over for lunch and found the box of contact sheets under the sofa. We spent an hour looking for a holiday photograph she remembered. Found it on the last sheet. Also found proof that I have been photographing railway platforms for at least fifteen years.
Agent saw: Two people point at black-and-white contact sheets spread across a dining table alongside envelopes and used lunch plates.
Post 6 · Fort Kochi, Kochi · 2025-12-12
Last morning in Fort Kochi before the train home. Bought breakfast, then spent twenty minutes trying to photograph this bicycle without the delivery van behind it. The van won. Leaving it in.
Agent saw: A bicycle carrying a wrapped parcel leans against a yellow wall, with a white van visible behind it.
Post 7 · Bhendi Bazaar, Mumbai · 2025-10-19
Chai walk through Bhendi Bazaar with Yusuf. Three stops, one unnecessary detour, and a long conversation about the cinema his father used to take him to. No camera out until the last stop. This was the only frame.
Agent saw: A person stands beside two glasses of chai and a steaming metal kettle at a street stall after dark.
Post 8 · Jaipur Junction, Jaipur · 2025-08-24
The Jaipur train was late enough for another chapter and another chai. I used to make very ambitious reading lists for journeys. Now I carry one book and usually spend half the trip looking outside.
Agent saw: A person holds an open book beside a tote bag and paper cup of chai on a railway platform, with passengers and a train beyond.