Mandrika Rupa is an Indian- New Zealand filmmaker and community worker. She is a member of

The Kshetra Collective The Kshetra Collective is a creative collective of diverse multimedia New Zealand artists of Indian heritage. The collective is made up of Tiffany Singh, Shruti Yatri, Mandrika Rupa, Jacob Rajan, Rafik Patel, Sarah Dutt and Mandy Rupa-Reid. ...

, a diverse group of artists in New Zealand of Indian heritage.

Biography

Rupa was born in

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and moved to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in 1960. Rupa's great-grandfather, Jaga Rupa, emigrated to New Zealand in 1907 just after immigration restrictions targeted at Chinese and Indians were lifted. Jaga Rupa settled in the Waikato and became a hawker. Rupa has six siblings who were all born in New Zealand and one born in India. In 1981 Rupa's daughter Mandy Rupa-Reid was born. Between 1986 and 1988 Rupa gained a qualification in

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

. In 1993 Rupa founded Nari Shakti, a platform for Indian women to empower one another, their communities and promote economic independence. A trip to India in 1993 prompted Rupa's journey into filmmaking. Much of Rupa's film work explores the social implications of immigrant communities, the experiences of the

South Asian diaspora The South Asian diaspora, also known as the Desi diaspora, is the group of people whose ancestral origins lie in South Asia, but who live outside the region. There are over 44 million people in this diaspora. Endonyms South Asians in the diaspo ...

and giving visibility to underrepresented voices.

Films

Rupa's short film ''Poonam (1994)'' is part of the permanent collection at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

in New York.

Biography

Films

References

Further reading