Event Details
Date: Saturday, March 6th
Time: 1pm PT / 4pm ET
Duration: 1 hr
Location on the Festival Map: ‘The Hall’
Speakers: Smriti Mundhra
In partnership with The Salon
This Session
Join this fireside chat with Smriti Mundhra, Creator & Executive Producer of the hit series, Indian Matchmaking and Co-Director & Producer of St. Louis Superman talk about her journey to becoming an Academy Award-nominated director/producer.
Speaker Bio
Smriti Mundhra is an Academy Award-nominated director/producer and one of DOC NYC’s 40 Under 40 Filmmakers to Watch. Her latest film, St. Louis Superman, has been nominated for a 2020 Academy Award in the short documentary category. Her debut feature, the documentary A Suitable Girl, world premiered in competition at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival to rave reviews from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Magazine and was awarded the Albert Maysles Best Documentary Director prize at the festival. Smriti also helmed ad campaigns for Google, the United Nations (starring Theo Germaine) and Bumble (starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas). She created and executive produced Indian Matchmaking, an eight-part Netflix original documentary series currently streaming on the platform.
Prior to A Suitable Girl, Smriti produced Bomb the System, a 2004 Independent Spirit Award nominee for Best First Feature, and the SXSW Audience Award winning feature film Waterborne. She also co-produced Punching at the Sun, an official selection of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, as well as over one dozen award-winning short films, including the 2010 Sundance Film Festival official selection and Women In Film award winner “New Media.” She has written, directed and produced both short- and long-form documentary content for BET, Al Jazeera English and other platforms. Her work has been supported by the Tribeca Film Institute, Film Independent, Women In Film, ITVS, Doc Society, the Bertha Institute and the International Documentary Association, among other esteemed organizations.
Smriti holds an MFA in Film from Columbia University and a BA from California State University, Northridge and Art Center College of Design. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, screenwriter Christian Magalhães, their daughter Isabel and son Jag.
About The Salon
The Salon is a forum for South Asian artists and executives in entertainment to connect and collaborate, share resources, facilitate mentorship, drive public advocacy, and disburse grants. Founded in 2019 by Nik Dodani, Bash Naran, and Vinny Chhibber, The Salon’s mission is to accelerate the creative development of South Asian-American television and film through community organizing and empowerment.
About The South Asian Film Fest of America
Showcasing diversity, creativity and a multi hyphenated identity, the South Asian Film Festival of America (#southasianfilmfest) is an international screening and awards platform for South Asians to showcase their films and digital work. We're a culture-impact film festival for the new generation of South Asian creatives to share their experiences and narratives through feature films, short films, web-series, and music videos with global audiences. We welcome stories from and inclusive of individuals with South Asian heritage, the diaspora, immigrants, and from the sub-continent itself. SAFFA is funded by Product of Culture, a WOC founded and funded collective that amplifies brown brands and creatives with strategy, content, and experiences rooted in culture.
**This event is included in the following tickets:
South Asian Film Fest [All Masterclasses]
South Asian Film Fest [ALL Screenings + Q&As + Masterclasses]
