Tanuj Chopra is an American film-maker. His debut feature film ''

Punching at the Sun ''Punching at the Sun'' is a 2006 American drama film directed by Tanuj Chopra and starring Nina Edmonds, Misu Khan and Hassan El-Gendi. Cast *Misu Khan as Mameet *Nina Edmonds as Shawni *Hassan El-Gendi as Uncle Sonny *Ferdusy Dia as Dia *Kazi ...

'' (2006) was screened at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

and was also nominated for the

Humanitas Prize The Humanitas Prize is an American award for film and television writing, presented to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful manner. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of ...

. He directed the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

web series '' Delhi Crime 2'', whose first part was nominated for an International

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

Early life and education

Chopra was raised in Silicon Valley, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in

Semiotics Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is a ...

from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

in 1999. He completed a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

degree in film at the

Columbia University School of the Arts The Columbia University School of the Arts (also known as School of the Arts or SoA) is the fine arts graduate school of Columbia University in Morningside Heights, New York (state), New York. It offers Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees in Film, ...

in 2007, where he received the School of Art's Deans Fellowship and the FOCUS Film Fellowship.

Career

Chopra made his first student film, ''Hate Crime'', in the summer of 1998. As an undergraduate at

, he wrote, directed and produced ''Uljhan'', a 10-minute short film that played in festivals in New York and Los Angeles. In 2003, he directed, edited, and produced a short romance film entitled ''Butterfly'', starring

Tillotama Shome Tillotama Shome (born 25 June 1979) is an Indian actress known primarily for her work in independent films. She began acting with a supporting role in Mira Nair's film ''Monsoon Wedding'' (2001). She won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actr ...

, which was shot in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

and screened at over 20 festivals across North America, Europe, India and Pakistan. ''Butterfly'' won "Best Film" at the Napa Valley Wine Country Festival and the Ivy League Film Festival, the Audience Choice Award at the 2003 Asian Film Expo in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, France, and a Director's Citation at the 2004 Black Maria Film and Video Festival. In 2009, Chopra directed a short film entitled ''Chop Chop'' (2009) starring

Sung Kang Sung-Ho Kang (; born April 8, 1972) is an Americans, American actor. His first major role was as Han Lue in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise, a character he first portrayed in ''Better Luck Tomorrow'' (2002). Kang also played John Mak in the tel ...

and

Manu Narayan Manu Narayan (born August 16, 1973) is an American actor, film producer, singer, songwriter, composer and saxophonist. He currently guest stars as Hari Sahni on the hit Apple TV series Your Friends & Neighbors (TV series), Your Friends and Neighb ...

. He wrote and directed a sci-fi short film in 2010 entitled ''Pia'', starring

and Pia Shah as an android/cyborg, for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

's FutureStates project. In 2011, Chopra directed ''The King's Speech Parody LOL'', in partnership with the

Center for Asian American Media The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) was founded in 1980. The San Francisco–based organization, formerly known as the National Asian American Telecommunications Association (NAATA), has grown into the largest organization dedicated to the ...

(CAAM), to highlight the 29th Annual

San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival CAAMFest, known prior to 2013 as the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), is presented every May (Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month) in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States as the nation's ...

's focus on South Asian film and filmmakers. He also directed and wrote a dystopian short film entitled ''Carbon Dated'' in 2011. In 2012, Chopra directed a web series, again in partnership with CAAM, entitled ''Nice Girls Crew''. Season 1 screened in 2012, and Season 2 of the series screened in 20d. He also directed the season 2 of web series

Delhi Crime ''Delhi Crime'' is an Indian police procedural crime drama television series written and directed by Richie Mehta. With creative manager Chirag Shah and produced by Golden Karaven, Ivanhoe Productions, Film Karavan and Poor Man's Productions, ...

. In 2014, Chopra wrote and directed a futuristic short film entitled ''Teacher In A Box'' (2014), again in partnership with the PBS FutureStates project, set in a future where teachers are replaced with digital avatars of themselves.

Music videos

Along with

Prashant Bhargava Prashant Bhargava (January 12, 1973 – May 15, 2015) was an Indian-American filmmaker and designer. He died of a heart attack from a history of heart trouble. Bhargava's short film ''Sangam'', described by Greg Tate of the Village Voice as ...

, Chopra co-directed the music video for the Swetshop Boys' "Benny Lava". Chopra also directed the music videos for Chee Malabar's tracks "Harsh Truth", "Unbearable Sweetness", "Now Is Too Soon", and "Hamas 2.5". He has also directed various music videos and music pieces for jazz pianist

Vijay Iyer Vijay Iyer (; born Vijay Raghunathan, October 26, 1971) is a composer, pianist, bandleader, producer, writer, and professor based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' has called him a "social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builde ...

Documentaries

Chopra has worked on several documentaries. His ''Project Heart: Uganda'' series focused on the work of the World Children Initiative treating children's heart disease in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

. His documentary ''SAYA! Turns Ten'' is a commissioned piece about the

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

based non-profit organization South Asian Youth Action.

Feature films

In 2006, Chopra wrote, produced, and directed his first feature film, ''Punching at the Sun'', depicting the life of a troubled South Asian teen ( Misu Khan) living in

. It premiered at the 2006

as the first South Asian American film to be selected to the festival. At Sundance, it was nominated for a

. The film also screened at the 2006

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

and the 2006

, where it won the Jury Award for Best Narrative film. It has been screened at over 30 film festivals, and was released online in 2008 via Jaman.com. Chopra started work on the Kickstarter crowd-funded indie feature film ''Nature Boy'' in 2011, which tells the story of an ex-tennis champion who finds himself washed up and disconnected in his hometown at age 33. Chopra makes his films under the label "Chops Films".

Filmography

Miscellaneous

Chopra serves on the board of the

Palo Alto International Film Festival The Palo Alto International Film Festival (abbreviated as PAIFF) was a four-day festival that ran at the end of September. The Festival celebrated the innovation in cinema. PAIFF's speakers series, Palo Alto Talks, hosted conversations between indus ...

, and assists with the New Voices for Youth Film-making Initiative.

References

External links

*
Chops FilmsNew York Magazine - Head-to-Head: Ajay Naidu and Tanuj Chopra
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chopra, Tanuj Film directors from California Living people Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Brown University alumni American film directors of Indian descent Year of birth missing (living people)