I am a writer, director, producer and teacher. I live and work in Sydney, on the unceded lands of the Cadigal and Wangal people of the Eora nation. I am an Australian and French dual national of Indian (Bengali) origin.
I have made three feature films, Let the Wind Blow (2004), Sunrise (2014) and Slam (2018) (and three shorts and documentaries).
I have a Diplôme de Cinéma – Direction (Post-graduate Degree) from La FEMIS, the French national film school and was the recipient of a full scholarship from the French government.
I have worked as Senior Lecturer for the Masters in Directing at the Australian Film, Television, Radio School (AFTRS) since 2021.
My films are all original stories I wrote and directed and were all born from my experiences and projected onto the protagonists. They are all films that challenge the audience out of their comfort zones. They all began as small impossible ideas, but I could make them real, and they were seen and appreciated by an audience. They made audiences happy, sad and sometimes even very angry.
They have screened at numerous international film festivals like the Berlinale, Tribeca, BFI London, Rotterdam, Busan, Sitges, Fantasia, Munich, Tallinn, Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Tokyo etc. and won awards.
They have had arthouse theatrical releases in Germany, France, the US, Australia, China, the UK and India. They have had SVOD acquisitions with Netflix, MUBI, Binge, Stan, SBS, 7plus, Fandor, Sooner, etc. and TVOD on AppleTV, Youtube, GooglePlay, iTunes and on DVD.
My films have been well-received critically with outstanding reviews in The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Indiewire, LA times, The Age, The Australian, The Guardian, Libération, and L’Humanité, among many others.
I am a full member of the Australian Writers’ Guild and the Australian Directors Guild, where I’m also a member of the board.
I’m currently in development of my fourth feature film and a mini-series for television (funded by Screen Australia).
FEATURES
Slam 116′ (2019) my third feature film, an Australian-French coproduction, premiered at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, and has since screened at the Sydney and Melbourne FF among others. The film had its Australian premiere at the 2019 Sydney Film Festival in the Special Presentations at the State Theatre. The film was released in selected cinemas in Australia to rave reviews. It was acquired by Foxtel Binge, 7+, MUBI and currently streaming on STAN and its European release was compromised by successive lockdowns.
Rotten Tomatoes
Trailer
Sunrise 87′ (2014) my second feature film premiered at the Busan Int. Film Festival and since screened at Tribeca, Munich, BFI London, Sitges, Fantasia etc. It won the Best Film and the Best Cinematography Awards at the 2015 Durban Film Festival, Black Tulip for Best Film at the Imagine Film festival and an Honorable Jury Mention at the Munich Film festival. It was nominated at the Asia-Pacific Screen Academy Awards. It received excellent reviews from critics worldwide. SUNRISE was released in arthouse theatres in Germany, France and the US and was acquired by Netflix.
Rotten Tomatoes
Trailer
Let the Wind Blow 93′ (2004), my first feature film, premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival. It was screened at the MoMA, SFMoMA and at the Guggenheim, Berlin and toured the US as part of the ‘Global Lens‘ of the Global Film Initiative (SF). It won BBC Audience Prize at Commonwealth FF *Best Film – Durban FF / Special Jury Mention – Firebird Award Hong Kong Int. FF Re-released on MUBI Dec 22.
Trailer
DOCOS
John McLaughlin/Remember Shakti 180′ (2006)
The Way of Beauty Shakti Timeless 62′ – Sound check45′ + Saturday Night in Bombay + add-ons)
SHORTS
La Partition 6′ (1997) Selected at the Festival de Film de Paris 1998
Trajet Discontinu 26′ (1996) won *Jury Award-Festival Premier Plans d’Angers 97’ / *Special Jury Prize CERRUTTI Fondation
Le Cochon 12′ (1995) Selected at the Locarno IFF, Clermont-Ferrand FF, Aix-en-Provence FF, Potsdam-Babelsburg FF