Manjari Makijany

Manjari is an Indian filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Her debut feature, Uma Skatista Radical (2021) about a teenage girl who comes-of-age through skateboarding was acquired by Netflix and released worldwide in 31 languages. Her second feature was Disney's Spin (2021) starring Avantika as Rhea, about an Indian-American teen who follows her dream to be a DJ. The film was nominated for two Children's & Family Emmy Awards-Outstanding Special Fiction & Outstanding Directing in a Single Camera Program.

Manjari comes from a family of actors and filmmakers in Mumbai and set her mind on directing at an early age. Her journey as a director took off with her critically acclaimed short film, The Last Marble (2012), which was selected to be part of Best of Fest at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. She followed that success with more short films: The Corner Table (2013) and I See You (2017), which won Best Short at the Asian American International Film Festival and was showcased in Cannes at the Emerging Filmmakers Showcase.

She was one of eight directors selected for the prestigious American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women Program and the second Indian woman to be part of that program since its inception in 1974. She was in the Universal Pictures Directors Intensive and the Fox Filmmakers Lab and is a Disney CTDI alum. Manjari was also selected to participate in the Commercial Directors Diveristy Program (CDD Program). She is a member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and Directors Guild of America (DGA).

Manjari's vision for storytelling and her diverse film experience, both in India and America, has served as a fertile ground to craft her unique voice as a filmmaker. She heads a boutique production company, Skatepark Films, with her husband and producing partner, Emmanuel Pappas. Under the banner, she is developing a slate of feature, TV series and documentary projects.