How AIF Media Fund Raised $10M at Venice Film Festival
AIF Media Fund Announces $10 million Fundraising Achievement at the Venice Film Festival
Orenda AIF Media Fund partners Rashaana Shah, Parthiv Gohil, and Manasi Parekh, attend the 2026 Venice Film Festival.
At the 83rd Venice Film Festival producers Rashaana Shah, Parthiv Gohil and Manasi Parekh announced a $10 million Series A raise.
Cross cultural film vision unveiled
New York-based Mulberry Films and Mumbai-based Soul Sutra have come together with a shared vision: to tell stories from their land with experiences unique to them that explore the universal threads of vulnerability, courage and compassion across the world.
They believe that cinema transcends borders—and that powerful possibilities emerge when creative voices from different cultures come together. Their vision is to champion subtle, character-driven storytelling beyond the terrain of comic-book narratives and conventional superhero franchises. Their presence in Venice offered them an opportunity to introduce that vision to a community of international members in the entertainment industry while participating in conversations about the future of international collaborations.
“For us, AIF Media Fund is about more than investing in individual films. It’s about creating a platform where distinctive voices can be supported, where filmmakers can take creative risks, and where stories rooted in one culture can find meaningful connections with audiences around the world. Venice gave us the opportunity to share that vision with a global community, and reaching this first $10 million milestone is an important step in building what we hope will become a lasting home for ambitious, culturally resonant cinema,” Gohil explains.
Venice panels spark bold ideas
During their time at the Venice Film Festival, they immersed themselves in everything Venice had to offer. They attended high-profile industry gatherings, including the Golden Globes 100Zeros Celebration, Producers Without Boarders 4th annual Awards Brunch, and Forbes Unconventional Excellences – Venezia, as well as Shah and Parekh had the honor of speaking on multiple panels at the World Woman Foundation’s Venice Agenda to share their thoughts on what it means to be a woman today in the entertainment industry.
Venice Film Festival’s intimate, spirited atmosphere opened up a plurality of perspectives for the group on how filmmakers and industry is evolving across cultures and geographies.
“Wandering the 1600 year old lanes in Venice reinforced something: the most exciting opportunities happen when different worlds engage,” Shah says. “Cross-border collaboration isn’t just about taking a film from one market to another. It’s about bringing different experiences, talent, capital and perspectives into the creative process from the very beginning.”
Empowering women filmmakers now
That idea of collaboration was also central to Shah and Parekh’s participation in the World Woman Foundation panels. Curated by Italy Now in collaboration with Jane Owen, the programming brought together many professionals from the entertainment world to discuss the new challenges women face and how to create positive change for not only themselves, but also the next generation of women in the industry.
“Being part of the World Woman Foundation panels in Venice was a powerful reminder that creating change in our industry requires more than simply having a seat at the table,” Parekh says. “It’s about making sure more women have the opportunity to build, create, and shape the narratives behind the camera and in front of the camera. The most meaningful conversations are the ones that continue long after the panel ends, and I hope we can carry that spirit of collaboration forward and create more pathways for the next generation of women coming after us.”
Those conversations are reflected in their work at AIF Media Fund. They want to be the change they want to see in the world, and they’re choosing impactful untold stories. From the Himalayan thriller Nanda Devi to Laxman and the adaptation of Rick Moody’s Purple America, the films in the first slate are incredibly diverse. However, while the projects differ in genre and setting, these stories are united by their timelessness.
Ten to one hundred million
Going forward, they hope the initial $10 million fund can eventually grow to $100 million, they believe growth should never come at the expense of the fund’s original purpose. “While scale matters, I hope we stay true to the craft, to cinema and to the reason we started this in the first place: to tell impactful stories and give great filmmakers the space to make them,” Shah says.
Ultimately, they see the future of AIF at the intersection of creativity, technology, and distribution, with the goal of bringing ambitious stories to audiences in both the East and the West. Their time in Venice with fellow investors, diverse filmmakers, and women working to evolve the entertainment landscape gave them the opportunity to trigger their vision into action.
