Shalini Kantayya is an American filmmaker and environmental activist based in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, whose films explore human rights at the intersection of water, food, and

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

. Kantayya is best known for her debut feature documentary, '' Catching the Sun.''

Early life and education

Born to Indian parents with a mother who emigrated to the United States, Kantayya was born and raised in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. She received a BA in Media Studies and International Human Rights from

Hampshire College Hampshire College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges ...

in Massachusetts, and an MFA in Film Direction from the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

Career

Kantayya finished in the top 10 out of 12,000 filmmakers on Fox’s ''

On the Lot ''On the Lot'' is a single season reality show and online competition for filmmaking, produced by Steven Spielberg, Mark Burnett and David Goffin. The show, which aired on Fox, featured filmmakers competing in weekly elimination competitions, w ...

,'' a

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

talent show by

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

Mark Burnett James Mark Burnett (born 17 July 1960) is a British television producer who has won thirteen Emmy Awards including ten Primetime, one Sports Emmy Award and two Daytime Emmy Awards. His other accolades include five Producers Guild of America A ...

and David Goffin. She founded the production company 7th Empire Media in 2011.

Filmography

''A Drop of Life'' - Director

''Set in the near future, A DROP OF LIFE is the story of two women, a village teacher in rural India and an African American corporate executive, whose disparate lives intersect when they are both confronted with lack of access to clean drinking water.''

Kantayya's sci-fi film about the world water crisis, ''A Drop of Life,'' was broadcast on national television in the U.S. and India. The film was used by the African Water Network as a tool to organize for water rights in 40 villages across Africa.

''Catching the Sun'' - Director

Kantayya's feature-length documentary, '' Catching the Sun,'' premiered at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival and was named a New York Times Critics’ Pick. It’s also part of American Film Showcase, and was planned to be shown at U.S. embassies and diplomatic missions abroad. ''Catching the Sun'' premiered globally on Netflix on Earth Day 2016 with Executive Producer

Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...

, and won the Best Feature award at the San Francisco Green Film Festival.

''Breakthrough'' - Director

In 2016, Kantayya directed an episode for the National Geographic series: ''Breakthrough''. The series was executive produced by

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received List of awards and nominations r ...

which will air in the spring of 2017 "in 440 million homes in 171 countries and in 45 languages, as well as on the Spanish language network Nat Geo Mundo". The new series documents "scientific explorers from leading universities and institutions and how their cutting-edge innovations and advancements will change our lives in the immediate future and beyond".

''Coded Bias'' - Director

'' Coded Bias'' is an American

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

that premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. It was directed by Kantayya and follows researchers and advocates, principally MIT computer scientist

Joy Buolamwini Joy Adowaa Buolamwini is a Canadian-American computer scientist and digital activist formerly based at the MIT Media Lab. She founded the Algorithmic Justice League (AJL), an organization that works to challenge bias in decision-making software ...

, as they explore how algorithms encode and propagate bias.

Awards and recognition

Kantayya has received recognition from the Sundance Documentary Program, IFP Spotlight on Documentary, New York Women in Film and Television, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Jerome Hill Centennial. She is a

Sundance A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada * Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States * Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated pl ...

Fellow, TED Fellow, a finalist for the ABC , DGA Directing Fellowship, and a

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

Personal life

In 2013, Kantayya revealed in a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' op-ed that she had been sexually assaulted in India while there to film a project for a United States–based organization. She proceeded to press charges and was later diagnosed with

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

, which inspired her to speak out against sexual assault not only in India but also the United States.

References

External links

7th Empire Media
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kantayya, Shalini Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American documentary film directors Hampshire College alumni City College of New York alumni American women documentary filmmakers 21st-century American women American people of Indian descent Filmmakers from Brooklyn Activists from Brooklyn American women environmentalists American environmentalists People from Hartford, Connecticut Filmmakers from Connecticut