Apoorva Bakshi is an International EMMY Award winning producer, spearheading production of most notably Sundance favourite & International EMMY Winner DELHI CRIME, National Award winning film, SHUT UP SONA; Netflix Musical WHAT ARE THE ODDS?; and widely watched Facebook Original HOMESPUN. She serves as a Founder and Managing Partner of Awedacious Originals and Golden Karavan carving her niche as one of the youngest producers of prolific South Asian productions. Her latest doc productions include an untitled episodic NETFLIX series and film WOMB - WOMEN OF MY BILLION, which is traveling across festivals now.
A fierce guardian of independent voices, Apoorva has successfully acquired and distributed over 40+ award winning independents, notably the Cannes favourites, GANGS OF WASSEYPUR, PEDDLERS & TITLI; Golden Globe shortlists FANDRY & SIDDHARTH; IDFA winner PLACEBO and Indian Selection for the Oscars VISARANAI among others. She has also worked at Sony Pictures Entertainment Networks Asia notably on AMAZING RACE ASIA, CYRIL SIMPLY MAGIC & INDIA’S MINUTE TO WIN IT.
Eris Qian is a writer/director/producer based in New York City and considers herself a global nomad. Born and raised in China, she leverages her diasporic experience to tell stories about characters who defy the norms in finding their place in the world. Eris's debut short film MOTHER TONGUE premiered at CAAMFest and screened at eleven other prestigious festivals. She is a Sundance x WIF Financing Strategy Intensive Fellow for her feature project PULLING SEEDLINGS, which is also a finalist of the ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship and the Sloan Feature Film Award. Her producing work was seen at festivals including Aspen, Palm Springs, OutFest, DGA Student Award, and HBO APA Visionaries Award.
Eris recently associate-produced a feature documentary MILES TO GO BEFORE SHE SLEEPS, which was supported by Doha Film Institute and Women Make Movies. As a natural multi-hyphenate, Eris holds MBA/MFA dual degrees from NYU's Stern and Tisch.
Avinash Viswanathan is a producer from Chennai, India. With experience in English, Tamil and Hindi language films and TV, Avinash has been a part of films such as Ritesh Bhatra's The Lunchbox, the Academy Award-nominated film Visaranai (The Interrogation) and the Academy Award-winning documentary short, Period. End of Sentence.
Avinash recently executive produced the Netflix series Paava Kadhaigal, which starred Prakash Raj, Simran and Sai Pallavi.
Sam Motamedi is an NYC-based filmmaker and cinematographer. After graduating with a dual degree in Political Science and Persian Studies from the University of Maryland, he enrolled in the NYU Tisch Graduate Film program.
With experience in commercial and narrative productions, Sam's work has screened on CNN, ESPN, and many other local and nationwide stations.
Sara Balghonaim is a writer / director, producer and actress from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She is currently pursuing her MFA at NYU Tisch's Graduate Film School. Prior to NYU, she worked as an Assistant Director for Haifa Al Mansour on her second feature, The Perfect Candidate. She also AD'ed notable Saudi films like The Rat, The Last Visit and Black Sand.
In 2019, Sara starred in Dunya's Day, winner of the Special Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
Composer, producer and singer-songwriter Jacob Snider was named Best New Artist by NPR / WXPN, and has been featured on the BBC and KCRW to critical acclaim. Jacob has performed at SXSW, and has shared stages with Big Thief and The Roots.
On screen, Jacob composed the theme and score for Rough Draft with Reza Aslan, which premiered on Topic in 2020. Upcoming projects include an album with James "Kirby" Fairchild of Modest Mouse, under the moniker Small Isles.
Jacob is a graduate of Columbia University for composition (BA) and NYU for screen scoring (MM). He is represented by Heavy Hitters Music, and Expressive Artists in Los Angeles.