Rakasree, University of Glasgow alumna, to help shape cultural programme for 2026 CWG

Rakasree Basu, a University of Glasgow graduate has been selected to curate two official cultural events as part of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games Festival. Rakasree, founder and producer of Glasgow-based Momentum Films, is serving as artistic director and creative producer on two distinct public programmes exploring identity, participation, and cultural exchange. Her selection builds on a growing body of work connecting Scotland and India through film, cultural programming and international collaboration.

One initiative, Short Film Screening – Stories of Sport, Belonging & Home, will bring together films from Scotland’s communities. Selected following an open call, the screenings will explore themes of sport, movement, memory, everyday life, and belonging, placing community perspectives at the centre of the cultural programme surrounding the Games.

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The second project, Ceilidh Meets Garba will bring together Scotland’s traditional Ceilidh and Gujarat’s Garba in a participatory evening of dance, music, celebration, food, and shared cultural heritage. Connecting Glasgow, host of the 2026 Games, and Ahmedabad, which will host the Games in 2030, the programme uses two collective dance traditions to explore how cultural heritage can be shared, reinterpreted and made welcoming to new participants.

Originally from Kolkata, Rakasree moved to Glasgow in 2021 after being awarded the British Council Creative Economy Scholarship to study an MSc in Creative Industries and Cultural Policy at the University of Glasgow. Before moving to Scotland, she had already established a successful career in India, producing Nordic-Indian co-productions, advising India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on international film policy, and curating a Producers’ Workshop for the National Film Development Corporation. Looking to build on her experience, she chose to further her studies and deepen her understanding of cultural policy, leadership and the global creative economy.

Rakasree Basu, originally from Kolkata, moved to Glasgow in 2021

Since graduating, Rakasree founded Momentum Film, developing international co- productions across Scotland, the wider UK, Europe and South Asia. Alongside her work in film production, she has established several initiatives that strengthen cultural links between Scotland and India and support South Asian cinema in Scotland.

These include Scotland’s first Indian Film Festival, delivered in partnership with the Consulate General of India in Edinburgh and Glasgow Film Theatre in September 2025, and the South Asians in Cinema Collective, supported through the University of Glasgow’s Glasgow Riverside Innovation District (GRID) Civic Grant Fund. The Collective creates opportunities for South Asian screen practitioners based in Scotland to connect with peers and industry partners across South Asia and the wider international screen sector.

This is especially meaningful, says Rakasree

“Being selected to shape two programmes for Glasgow 2026 Festival is especially meaningful because it brings my work as a producer and cultural programmer into a major public platform. I wanted to create programmes that move beyond representation and towards participation: spaces where people can encounter one another’s stories and traditions, experiences, and where Scotland’s cultural life is understood as something continually shaped by everyone who now calls it home. Ceilidh Meets Garba also opens a living cultural conversation between Glasgow 2026 and Ahmedabad 2030 and where new conversations and connections can emerge,” said Rakasree.

Reflecting on her time at the University, Rakasree said the MSc enabled her to connect an established creative practice with a deeper understanding of cultural policy, public value, and the global creative economy.

“The University of Glasgow gave me a language and framework for work I had already begun in India, bringing creative practice into conversation with cultural policy, public value, and international collaboration. It helped me understand that cultural leadership is not simply about producing individual projects; it is about building the conditions in which new voices, partnerships and audiences can participate. That perspective has shaped the organisations and programmes I have built in Scotland, while allowing me to sustain an international practice across the UK, India and beyond,” added Rakasree.

Rakasree continues to work across film and television production, cultural programming and international partnerships, while maintaining close links with India’s National Film Development Corporation. Alongside her professional practice, she serves on the British Council Scotland Advisory Committee. Her work reflects the University’s commitment to developing graduates whose knowledge, leadership, skills, and global outlook contribute to make a positive impact within their professions and communities.