Shubhashish Bhutiani grew up in a small Himalayan town in India where he attended Woodstock School. After being heavily involved in the theatre program in his town where he transitioned from acting to writing/directing he went to the United States to learn filmmaking from the School of Visual Arts in New York. His film, KUSH, had its world premiere at the 70th Venice International Film Festival where it won the Orizzonti Prize for Best Short Film. KUSH was shortlisted for a 2014 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film and now continues playing in film festivals all over the world.