Film Projects:
Short Films
Writer, Director, & Editor
(2023, 15 mins)
When opportunity comes knocking for mercurial Indian immigrant Hema, she fantasizes about becoming a sophisticated career woman. But her young daughter Anika has other transformations in mind for Hema: to be the kind of mother she was never destined to be. Woven with early 90s American TV, heartbreaking psychology experiments, and neuro-poetics, WIRE & CLOTH is an encounter with all the diverse factors that teach us how to show love.
— Jury Special Mention - 2024 Aspen Shortsfest
— Winner of an Alfred P. Sloan production award
— Shot on Kodak 16mm
Starring:
SAMSARA LEELA YETT
DEVIKA BHISE
REBECCA HAZLEWOOD
SAMRAT CHAKRABARTI
AJAY NAIDU
Producers: Khaula Malik & Raj Trivedi
DP: Lorena Durán
Costume Designer: Desira Pesta
Production Designer: Sadra Tehrani
Writer & Director
(2022, 7 mins)
Fleeting moments of tenderness and trust from renowned glass artist Nao Yamamoto’s workshop, where severe injury is only a matter of millimeters.
— OFFICIAL SELECTION AT: True/False Film Fest (2023)
Starring:
NAO YAMAMOTO
EMILY BRASCH
DP: Vatsala Goel
Editor: Harry Cepka, Swetha Regunathan
Producer
(2022, 25 mins)
Made with the support of If/Then Shorts x The Redford Center; BRICLab; Mountainfilm Commitment Grant
— Shortlisted for 2023 Academy Award - Best Documentary Short Subject
— Jury Prize at Big Sky Film Festival ‘23
— OFFICIAL SELECTION AT:
- Hot Docs ‘23
- Sheffield ‘23,
- Nantucket ‘23,
- DOCNYC ‘23
Director: Andrew Nadkarni
EPs: Caitlin Mae Burke, Su Kim
Producers: Swetha Regunathan, Katie Schiller
DPs: Joe Van Eeckhout, Derek Knowles
Editor: Peter Zachwieja
Writer & Director
(2020, 12 mins)
Indian-American teen Lekha sneaks out of the house to fulfill a prom night fantasy. When the evening goes awry, she ends up back where she started - but in a different place altogether.
— OFFICIAL SELECTION AT:
- Maryland Film Festival (2021),
- Indian Film Festival of LA (2021),
- San Diego Asian Film Festival (2021),
- HollyShorts (2021),
- South Asian Film Festival of America (2022)
— Short of the Week (2022)
— Best Short Jury Prize at South Asian film Festival of America
— BlueCat Screenplay Contest winner (2019)
— SHOWTIME® Tony Cox Screenplay Contest finalist (2019)
— Recipient of Peter S. Reed Foundation grant (2020)
Starring:
NIVITA CHALIKI
ETHAN RIVER COHEN
ANNIE OTTATI
SANDRA BELFORTE
GULSHAN MIA
Producers: Nashwa Zaman; Khaula Malik
DP: Alejandro Miyashiro
Costume Designer: Desira Pesta
Production Designer: Haley Anderson
Editors: Alan Wu, Harris Ansari, Karishma Dev Dube
Producer
(2019, 20 mins)
If There Is Light follows the Blackmon family’s journey to get out of the shelter system and find stable housing in NYC. Their story is told through the eyes of Janiyah, a shy but extraordinarily hopeful teenage girl who just wants her family to be together under the same roof.
Made with the support of Tribeca Studios, P&G, and Queen Collective.
— OFFICIAL SELECTION AT:
- 2019 Tribeca Film Festival
- Official selection on Le Cinema Club
Director: Haley Anderson
Writer & Director
(2017, 10 mins)
An Indian-American teenager is caught between a crush and an anthrax prank in the weeks following 9/11.
— OFFICIAL SELECTION AT:
- on NoBudge
- at 2018 Indie Street Film Festival,
- at 2018 Chicago South Asian Film Festival
— Shortlisted for Lexus Short Films Award
Starring:
RHEA RAJ
MANU MENON
ANITA GANESAN
STEPHON PETTWAY
JOSHUA CHESSIN-YUDIN
DP: Jall Cowasji
Producers: Ria Tobaccowala, Ashley Deckman
Editor: Will Mayo
We Will Now Discuss in a Little More Detail the Struggle For Existence
Writer, Director, & Editor
(2016, 7 mins)
Maya and Scott must confront the giant bear head in the room.
Starring:
LIPICA SHAH
MIKE SMITH RIVERA
DP: Kirsten Riccardi
Director, & Editor
(2016, 8 mins)
Rose Venkatesan was India's first transgender talk show host. Now, in the wake of media celebrity, she has her eye on other fields.
Dothead
Writer, Director, & Editor
(2015, 4 mins)
A magical bindi gives Padma the power of clairvoyance. It's all fun and games, until she sees more than she bargained for.
Shot on 16mm
DP: Tukei Muhumuza
Film Projects:
Feature Films
Burnout
(In Development)
Writer & Director
Logline: Stunted thirtysomething Sam gets a new lease on life when he meets bright and determined Cece, a seasonal trimmer on his father’s cannabis farm. But as he gets further entangled in her complicated life, euphoric highs quickly give way to devastating lows, and Sam must imagine a radically new future for himself.
— 2023 NYU Purple List selection
— 2023 NYU Production Lab Development Studio selection
The Last Car
(In Development)
Co-director & Producer
Logline: After the mysterious disappearance of a friend, director Devin Thomas unearths dozens of unexplained deaths on Amtrak’s long-distance trains. The Last Car follows the stories of three victims as it descends into a rabbit hole of institutional corruption and unreliable memory to expose the dysfunctional legacy of America’s railroads.
Director: Devin Thomas
Branded:
Creative Director
(2023)
Brand doc for Circle USDC, exploring the role of cryptocurrency for young Argentinians.
Delta x NBCU
Director & Producer
(2021)
Digital spot for Delta x NBCU campaign about sustainable travel, featuring influencer and sustainability expert Kathryn Kellogg.
Havas x The Annex - The Originals
Creative Director, Director & Producer
(2020-23)
Branded series for Havas x The Annex spotlighting artists across the US.
[1] Nao Yamamoto
[2] Victor Melendez
[3] Lauren Shapiro
[4] Detour
[5] Bambi Banks Couleé
[6] Alex McKenzie
[7] Olivia Kates
[8] Justin Lim
Rolex x Washington Post
Writer & Producer
(2020-21)
Short doc series for Rolex x WaPo spotlighting laureates of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise. The Rolex Awards for Enterprise support inspiring individuals with projects that advance human knowledge, preserve natural habitats and species, as well as improve the quality of life on the planet.
a) Michel Andre - Spain
b) Olivier Nsengimana - Rwanda
c) Krithi Karanth - India
d) Romulus Whitaker - India
e) Arun Krishnamurthy - India
f) Barbara Block - USA
Producer
(2021)
Four-part short doc series for OpenTable spotlighting 4 restaurants that have pivoted and rebounded after the pandemic
a) China Live - SF
b) 50Kitchen - Boston
c) L'oca d'oro - Austin
d) The Pink Dinghy - VA Beach
Creative Director, Producer
(2021)
Digital spot for Velocity Global, featuring Shark Tank's Robert Herjavec
Vox x Qualcomm
Writer & Producer
(2020)
Digital video featuring SF-based artist Vrinda Zaveri for The Verge.
NPR x Consider This
Writer, Director & Producer
(2021)
Promo spot for NPR podcast Consider This.
OpenTable - Thank You Restaurants
Writer & Producer
(2020)
Holiday campaign video thanking restaurant workers during 2020.
Music Videos:
Director
(2024)
On “Ujala," meaning radiant light in Punjabi, Jain infuses Punjabi folk motifs, drum & bass, and jazz, to create a groove-driven anthem that is infectious. Vocalist Ben Parag recalls lines from Subh-e-Azadi (Dawn of Freedom), written by the famous poet, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, before he launches into a soaring Hindustani gamaka. Alto saxophonist Alison Shearer takes an electrifying solo supported by the driving rhythm section (Ryan Dugre on guitar, Almog Sharvit on bass, Jain on drum set). The resulting song is both soul-stirring and intellectually stimulating as it captures the feeling Jain and band felt visiting his ancestral home in Sialkot, Pakistan.
Composer, drummer: Sunny Jain:
Lyrics: Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Vocals: Ben Parag
Alto saxophone: Alison Shearer:
Guitar: Ryan Dugre
Bass: Almog Sharvit
Produced and mixed by: Sunny Jain
Mastered by: Tony Joy
Recording engineers: Asad Ali Khan, Amr Kashmiri, Maeen Syed, Jamshaid Ali Khan, Zafar Iqbal
Recorded on: December 7, 2022 at Art Club Sugar Records, Lahore, Pakistan.
Video director: Swetha Regunathan
Shot by: Shah Zaman Baloch
Camera Assistant: Mohammad Ashir Shehzad
Director
(2024)
”Belonging" transports listeners on a mesmerizing journey that contemplates the human experience of migration and finding the feeling of home in a place unknown. Combining Jain's signature dhol drumming and effects, with lush melodies from vocalist Ben Parag, the track is a testament to the power of rhythm and voice to uplift and inspire.
Vocals: Ben Parag
Produced, mixed by: dhol by Sunny Jain
Mastered by: Tony Joy
Vocal recording engineers: Asad Ali Khan, Amr Kashmiri, Maeen Syed, Jamshaid Ali Khan, Zafar Iqbal
Recorded on: December 7, 2022 at Art Club Sugar Records, Lahore, Pakistan and August 15, 2023 in Brooklyn, NY
Cover Art: Louis Cuffari
Sinj Records 2024
Video Director: Swetha Regunathan
Shot by: Shah Zaman Baloch
Camera Assistant: Mohammad Ashir Shehzad
* Public Domain footage from The March of Time 14th Year No. 4, 1949. "India, Asia's New Voice"
Director: Peter Hopkinson
Director
(2021)
Shot on 16mm in Trona Pinnacles, CA.
From the album Phoenix Rise, produced by Sunny Jain.
Premiered on Rolling Stone India
Starring:
SEEMA HARI
Vocals: Shilpa Ananth
Mbira: John Falsetto (Pfumojena)
Violin: Mauro Durante
Dhol, & Producer: Sunny Jain
Drumset: Joe Russo
Cinematographer: Anumeha Sinha
Assistant camera: Simran Jehani
Mastering audio engineer: Tony Joy
Director
(2021)
— From the album Phoenix Rise, produced by Sunny Jain
— Animation by Stephen Bones Productions
— Origami by Ugaso Sheik-Abdi Audio
— Featured in Brooklyn Vegan
Vocals, lyrics: Kushal Gaya
Solo guitar: Adrian Quesada
Rhythm guitar: Pete Eide
Trombone: Darius Christian
Electric bass: Yuka Tadano
Drumset: Sunny Jain
Producer
(2020)
Shot on 16mm in Brooklyn, NY + Chicago
Featuring members from the Trinity Church choir in Chicago
Music & lyrics: Zeshan B
Directed by: Adeel Ahmed
Starring:
MARCHÁNT DAVIS
SHAZI RAJA
JESSICA PIMENTEL
Featuring:
REP. ILHAN OMAR (D-MN)
REV. JESSE JACKSON
DR. CORNEL WEST
HASAN MINHAJ
US REP. RASHIDA TLAIB (D-MI)
REP. DEB HAALAND (D-NM)
REP. JESUS “CHUY” GARCIA (D-IL)
REV. OTIS MOSS III
APARNA NANCHERLA
SENATOR NINA TURNER
DIANE GUERRERO
SHAHIDUL ALAM
WARIS AHLUWALIA
HARI KONDABALU
DR. ABDUL EL-SAYED
UTKARSH AMBUDKAR
FATHER MICHAEL PFLEGER
LINDA SARSOUR
