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Manjari Makijany

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Manjari Makijany
Born1986 or 1987 (age 37–38)[1]
Occupation(s)Film Director, Producer, Writer
Years active2008–present
Children1[2]
FatherMac Mohan
RelativesRaveena Tandon (cousin), Vinati Makijany (sister)

Manjari Makijany is an Indian-born American filmmaker based in Los Angeles who works on American and Hindi films. She is best known for directing the Netflix original feature film Skater Girl (2021) and the Disney Channel original movie Spin (2021). She directed several short films like her award-winning shorts, The Last Marble (2012) and The Corner Table (2014) before venturing into feature filmmaking.[3]

Early life

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Manjari Makijany is the daughter of Bollywood actor Mac Mohan and cousin of actress Raveena Tandon.[4] She did her schooling from Jamnabai Narsee School, Juhu and Graduation from Jai Hind College.

Career

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2000s: Early career

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Manjari worked as an Assistant Director on Indian films Wake Up Sid (2009) and Saat Khoon Maaf (2011). She also worked on Disney's live action-animation Lilly the Witch: The Journey to Mandolan, Gandhi of the Month and the Indian schedules of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and The Dark Knight Rises.[1]

Manjari completed UCLA's Professional Screenwriters Program, where she developed her feature screenplay, City of Gold. The script was nominated for the Nate Wilson's Joie De Vivre Award in 2015.

Manjari was one of eight women chosen to participate in the AFI Conservatory's Directing Workshop for Women in 2016. She is the second Indian to participate in the program since its inception in 1974.[5] As part of the AFI DWW she directed, I See You (2016), a dramatic thriller about a suicide bomber who has a change of heart on the New York City Subway. She is also one of 25 Women selected to participant in the inaugural Fox Filmmakers Lab in 2017.[6] Manjari was one of eight filmmakers selected to participate in the inaugural Universal Pictures Directors Intensive in 2017.[7]

2010s: Forey into directing

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Manjari's foray into writing and directing began with a 7-minute silent film, The Last Marble (2012) that premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival and received much critical appreciation winning International awards for "Best Film" at Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.[8] The film was included as the ‘Best of Fest’ at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and screened in over 30 International festivals.

The Corner Table (2014) was her second film and featured Tom Alter. The 24-minute short film was nominated for "Best Film" at the New York Indian Film Festival (2014). The film was a part of the Cannes Short Film Corner and an "Official Selection" of the Emerging Filmmakers Showcase at the American Pavilion - Cannes Film Festival. Manjari was the only Indian woman filmmaker chosen as part of this showcase.

2020s: SkaterGirl - present

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In 2019, Makijany began filming Skater Girl (2021), a narrative feature film written by Vinati Makijany and Manjari Makijany which follows the story of a teenage tribal girl in Rajasthan, India who discovers skateboarding after a thirty-something British-Indian woman introduces skateboarding to a village. Skater Girl is Makijany's directorial debut feature and was filmed on location in Khempur, Udaipur, Rajasthan in 2019. The film introduces newcomer Rachel Sanchita Gupta, and stars Amrit Maghera, Jonathan Readwin, Swati Das, Ankit Rao, and Waheeda Rehman.[9] As part of the film, the producers built Rajasthan's first and, at the time India's largest, skatepark. Spanning over 15,000 sq ft, it remains a public skatepark facility for children and visiting skaters.[10]

Her next release in 2021 was Disney Channel original film Spin, a film about an Indian American teen who learns she has a passion for creating DJ mixes. For the film, Manjari was nominated for two Children's & Family Emmy Awards--Outstanding Special Fiction & Outstanding[11] directing in a single camera program. [12] [13][14]

Filmography

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Short films

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Year Title Director Writer Notes
2012 The Last Marble Yes Yes Also Producer[15]
2014 The Corner Table Yes Yes [16]
2016 I See You Yes Yes

Feature films

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Year Title Director Writer Notes
2021 Skater Girl Yes Yes Co-written with Vinati Makijany
Spin Yes No Also co-producer[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b Lalwani, Vickey (29 October 2012). "Mac Mohan's daughter wishes to fulfill her dad's dream". Times of India.
  2. ^ "Manjari Makijany on Instagram: "ZOYA our "life" is here! We welcomed her into this world on Oct 31st, 2021 Truly the Best Diwali of our lives! Wishing you all a very Happy and Prosperous Diwali from us 🪔✨🌟❤️🧿"".
  3. ^ "The Corner Table".
  4. ^ Parkar, Shaheen (8 September 2012). "Raveena and cousin Manjari have their films screened on the same day". Mid-day.
  5. ^ "AFI DWW 2016 participants". American Film Institute Directing Workshop for Women.
  6. ^ "American Film Institute Reveals 25 Women Chosen for the Fox Filmmakers Lab". IndieWire. 15 January 2017.
  7. ^ "Universal Sets Eight Directors For 'Directors Intensive' Program Promoting Diversity". Deadline. 29 September 2017.
  8. ^ D’Mello, Yolande (12 June 2012). "Sambha's daughter picks up booty". Times of India Pune. No. Times Life Page 31. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015.
  9. ^ Vijayakar, R.M. (16 August 2019). "waheeda-rehman-returns-to-udaipur-years-after-guide-for-desert". IndiaWest.
  10. ^ Coutinho, Natasha (17 May 2019). "Mac Mohan's Daughters Manjari and Vinati enter Bollywood with Indias first film on skateboarding". Mid-day.
  11. ^ "Disney Receives 86 Children's & Family Emmy® Award Nominations". November 2022.
  12. ^ "Watch American Film Institute Movies".
  13. ^ "Avantika Vandanapu to Star and Manjari Makijany to Direct "Spin," A Newly Greenlit Disney Channel Original Movie" (Press release). Disney Channel. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020 – via The Futon Critic.
  14. ^ "Disney Channel's First Indian American Movie 'Spin' 'Is a Dream Come True': New Photos (Exclusive)" (Press release). Disney Channel. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021 – via Entertainment Tonight.
  15. ^ "The Last Marble". IMDb.
  16. ^ "The Corner Table". IMDb.
  17. ^ "The Corner Table". IMDb.
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