Shashwati Talukdar

With more than twelve films and videos to her nameTalukdar, Shashwati. “Shashwati Talukdar.” LinkedIn. 21 April 2008. .] , Shashwati Talukdar, originally from IndiaPhadnis, Rohina. “Shashwati Talukdar: Championing Social Justice through Film.” ABCD Lady. 21 April 2008. < http://www.abcdlady.com/2005-12/art2.php>. ] , has become well-known on the international film-making stage, particularly for her documentaries on cultural identity and representation. Her work has appeared at the Margaret Mead Film Festival, Mediopolis-Berlin, the Whitney Biennial, Kiasma Museum of Art in Helsinki and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia Talukdar, Shashwati. “Shashwati Talukdar Bio.” Shashwati Talukdar. 21 April 2008. .] and has gained the support of Jerome Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. In 2002, Talukdar received the James T. Yee Mentorship Award from the Center for Asian American Media, and, then, in 2003, she received the Project Involve Fellowship from IFP/New York.

She began her career in 1999 as an assistant editor for BBC’s television show, "Michael Moore Live. Since then, she has worked on other projects for BBC as well as for HBO, Lifetime, Sundance and Cablevision. She runs the production company “Four Nine and Half Pictures,” named because Talukdar herself is less than five feet tall. Additionally, she maintains Shashwati’s Blog, which she uses to communicate with fans and other bloggers about various topics, including films, culture and social justice issues [Talukdar, Shashwati. Shashwati’s Blog. 21 April 2008. . ] .

Although currently living in New York City, Talukdar was born in Dehradun, Uttaranchal, India. She attended Lady Shree Ram College, Delhi University, and Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi, where she obtained a graduate degee in Mass Communication. She also attended Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for a Masters of Fine Arts in film and media arts. Since then, she has taught at NYU, Arcadia and Temple University [“Documentary Filmmaker: Shashwati Talukdar.” Documentary Educational Resources. 21 April 2008. . ] .

Filmography

Any Number You Want, Eunuch Alley, Geometry Lover, Mahasweta Devi, My Life as a Poster, RetroAction, Unable to(Re)member Roop Kanwar, Rumination and Advice from Dr. Abbey, Snake-Byte, Tahini and Tears, Hooch and Hamlet in Chharanagar, Bollywood Terror

References