MANJARI MAKIJANY
Writer / Director

Manjari is an Indian Writer-Director based in Los Angeles and one of 8 women directors to be part of the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women (AFIDWW) in 2016. An award winning filmmaker of three versatile shorts: THE LAST MARBLE, THE CORNER TABLE and I SEE YOU.

Her films have won prestigious awards in India, USA, Europe and Australia and have played in festivals like Clermont Ferrand, Rochester, and Emerging Filmmakers showcase at the American Pavilion at Cannes among others. A finalist for the Warner Bros, Emerging Filmmakers Program and the second Indian woman to be ever selected for the AFI DWW, she was awarded the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation Grant. Recently, she was invited as a panelist to discuss the ‘Toolkit for Success’ at the Women in Entertainment Summit.

In 2015, her feature script, CITY OF GOLD, about the plight of Indian migrant workers in the Middle East labor camps was nominated for the Nate Wilson Award at the Professional Program in Screenwriting at UCLA.

She’s worked under the guidance of incredible filmmakers like Christopher Nolan on Dunkirk and Patty Jenkins on Wonder Woman. She’s also worked as the 2nd-2nd Assistant Director for ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, ‘Mission Impossible 4’and on Bollywood features like ‘Saat Khoon Maaf’, ‘Wake Up Sid’ and ‘Gandhi of the Month’ starring Harvey Keitel.

Her vision for storytelling and her diverse film experience, both in India and America, has served as a fertile ground to craft her unique voice as a filmmaker.