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.

WWI Milestones

2006:
· Located in the heart of filmcity, Mumbai. Founded by Subhash Ghai.
· Introduced India’s first programme for Producers.
· Introduced India’s first long-term full-time programme in Animation.

2008:
· Launched India’s 1st MBA in Media& Entertainment.

2010:
· Recognised as one of the top 10 film schools globally by the Hollywood Reporter.
· Received CILECT membership, a mark of global credibility and excellence in film & media education.

2011:
· Partnered with Sony to set up the Sony Media Technology Centre.
· Expansion to Media Management Programmes at UG & PG levels

2013:
· Expansion to commence Fashion Design education, in association with Neeta Lulla.

2014:
· Partnered with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to offer UG & PG degree.
· Launched India’s first UG applied arts degrees in Filmmaking, Acting & Music programmes.

2015:
· Partnered with FoxConn to set up the FoxConn Media Lab to broaden the scope of education in the creation of digital content for UGC (User Generated Content) platforms.
· Partnered with Google to set up the YouTube Space & YouTube Educator Lab at the WWI Mumbai campus.

2016:
· Partnered with REDucation platform to become India’s first institute to have DSMC2 cameras.

2018:
· Partnered with Reliance Jio to set up the WWI Jio VR Lab.
· First in India to introduce 8k Cinematography, in association with RED.
· WWI hosts the CILECT World Congress, first time in India.
· Recognised with the excellence in creative & performing arts award at the 6th FICCI Higher Education Excellence Award.

2019:
· Institutional partner to Apple for ‘Shot on iPhone’ education.

2020:
· Established the WWI Emerging Media Lab for Virtual Production, Motion Capture, Photogrammetry & Volumetric Capture.

2022:
· Partnered with the Epic Games, the creator of unreal engine for 3D creation tools.
· Partnered with the Disguise for integrated video & media server technology used in live events, broadcast & virtual production.

2024:
· Partnered with Intel to livestream the 2024 Paris Olympics in 8k.
· Meghna Ghai Puri, President, WWI has been welcomed into the prestigious EMMY Academy – a global community of creative visionaries shaping the future of television and media.
· Chaitanya Chinchlikar, Vice President & CTO, WWI received the SMPTE EXCELLENCE in education.

2025:
FICCI BAF Awards 2025: Our Students Shine with 3 Prestigious Wins!
· Best Student Animation Film
· Best Student Game
· Best Student VFX Work

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.