For the Love of Directing [Film Festival Masterclass]

Event Details:
Date: Sunday, March 7th
Time: 4pm PT / 7pm ET
Duration: 1 hr
Location on the Festival Map: ‘The Hall’
Speakers: Lena Khan
In partnership with South Asians In Entertainment

This Session
Best Practices in Directing with the director of newly released Disney's Flora & Ulysses

Speaker Bio
A writer and director, Lena debuted her first longform movie  The Tiger Hunter in 2016. The film, starring Danny Pudi,  Karen David and Jon Heder, follows an Muslim-Indian  immigrant on his journey to discover where he fits in 1970s  America.  

February 19 was the release of Lena’s first film she directed  for Disney, Flora & Ulysses - based on Kate DiCamillo’s  Newbery-winning book. The film stars actors Ben Schwartz,  Bobby Moynihan, Danny Pudi, Alyson Hannigan and theater  actress Matilda Lawler as 10-year-old Flora. 

Lena is currently directing multiple episodes of the Netflix’s  hit series by Mindy Kaping, Never Have I Ever, starring  Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Poorna Jagannathan and Richa  Moorjani.  

Lena gained experience at companies like Participant Media  (Syriana, The Kite Runner) before focusing on directing her  own work. She has directed commercials, films and music  videos for international artists such as Maher Zain and her  videos have been broadcast on TV across the world and  received over 20 million hits on YouTube.  

Lena graduated summa cum laude from the prestigious  UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, after which she  spent years gaining experience at renowned film companies.  Lena has gained extensive knowledge of what qualities a film  needs to be successful, and brings those aspects into co writing and directing The Tiger Hunter.  

Lena has been profiled in USA Today, Teen Vogue, The New  York Times, and various other media outlets; won Sony  Entertainment Television’s South Asian Excellence Award for contributions to entertainment, and now dedicates  herself to making films that call attention to social issues  through fun and engaging entertainment.

About South Asians In Entertainment (SAIE)
SAIE (and it’s womxn-forward community, South Asian Women In Entertainment SAWIE) are dedicated to using the voices of South Asian’s in entertainment and their experiences, knowledge and power to uplift each other and the next generation of talent in the entertainment industry through education, partnership, and mentorship.

About The South Asian Film Fest of America
Showcasing diversity, creativity and a multi hyphenated identity, the South Asian Film Festival of America (#southasianfilmfest) is an international screening and awards platform for South Asians to showcase their films and digital work. We're a culture-impact film festival for the new generation of South Asian creatives to share their experiences and narratives through feature films, short films, web-series, and music videos with global audiences. We welcome stories from and inclusive of individuals with South Asian heritage, the diaspora, immigrants, and from the sub-continent itself.

**This event is included in the following tickets:
South Asian Film Fest [All Masterclasses]
South Asian Film Fest [ALL Screenings + Q&As + Masterclasses]

The Post Life (Editing and Post Production) [Film Festival Masterclass]

Event Details:
Date: Sunday, March 7th
Time: 230pm PT / 530pm ET
Duration: 1 hr
Location on the Festival Map: ‘The Hall’
Speakers: Varun Viswanath
In partnership with South Asians In Entertainment

This Session
Best Practices in editing from the editor of What we Do in the Shadows.

Speaker Bio
Varun Viswanath is a Film and TV  Editor based in Los Angeles, currently  editing on "Blindspotting" (Starz). His  recent TV editing credits include the  Emmy-nominated series "What We Do In  The Shadows" (FX), "I Am Not Okay With  This" (Netflix), "Trial & Error" (NBC),  "Arrested Development" (Netflix) and  "Manic" (HBO). He has also edited the  indie feature films "Miss India  America" (MarVista), "Ava's Impossible  Things" (Gravitas) and "The Insomniac" (Bad Alliteration). His other  work includes TV pilots, web series,  music videos and promos for The  Academy, Dakota Films, Vice x Youtube,  Issa Rae Productions, ColorCreative,  AwesomenessTV, All Def Digital, and  Arsenic Inc. His work has screened at  various film festivals including SXSW,  Tribeca, New York Film Festival,  Newport Beach Film Festival, among  many others. Varun is a member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild, repped by  GSK Talent, and holds an MFA in Film  Editing from the American Film  Institute.

About South Asians In Entertainment (SAIE)
SAIE (and it’s womxn-forward community, South Asian Women In Entertainment SAWIE) are dedicated to using the voices of South Asian’s in entertainment and their experiences, knowledge and power to uplift each other and the next generation of talent in the entertainment industry through education, partnership, and mentorship.

About The South Asian Film Fest of America
Showcasing diversity, creativity and a multi hyphenated identity, the South Asian Film Festival of America (#southasianfilmfest) is an international screening and awards platform for South Asians to showcase their films and digital work. We're a culture-impact film festival for the new generation of South Asian creatives to share their experiences and narratives through feature films, short films, web-series, and music videos with global audiences. We welcome stories from and inclusive of individuals with South Asian heritage, the diaspora, immigrants, and from the sub-continent itself.

**This event is included in the following tickets:
South Asian Film Fest [All Masterclasses]
South Asian Film Fest [ALL Screenings + Q&As + Masterclasses]

Getting It Done: Best Practices of Production [Film Festival Masterclass]

Event Details:
Date: Sunday, March 7th
Time: 1pm PT / 4pm ET
Duration: 1 hr
Location on the Festival Map: ‘The Hall’
Speaker: Mona Barkat
In partnership with South Asians in Entertainment (SAIE)

This Session
Production starts well before Day 1 production.  Mona Barkat teaches us best practices of pre production, managing  fires on productions and best way to communicate with your team at all time.

Speakers Bio
After three-years in the Business Affairs division of Academy Award winning motion picture company Miramax, Barkat eventually shifted her attention to television—where she has served has served as Production Manager then Line Producer and Executive in Charge for series airing on VH1, E!, FOX Sports, Bravo, Discovery, and ABC. She has launched series like ALASKA THE LAST FRONTIER (Discovery Channel), CASTAWAYS (ABC), EMERGENCY CALL (ABC). She has rendered production management services for industry giants—director Don Weiner and fifteen-time Emmy Award winning director Don Mischer.

She wrote, directed and produced a scripted web-series, with writing partners from THE PATH and HEMLOCK GROVE, that lived on YouTube for a short time. 

With a deep respect for the creative process, Barkat intelligently sets new series budgets, manages production from pre-pro to field to post in a way that serves the creative vision, be it her own projects or those brought to her. 

With an airtight track record for success, Barkat is distinguished for successfully keeping her projects on budget without compromising the creative vision. 
She is based in Los Angeles.

About South Asians In Entertainment (SAIE)
SAIE (and it’s womxn-forward community, South Asian Women In Entertainment SAWIE) are dedicated to using the voices of South Asian’s in entertainment and their experiences, knowledge and power to uplift each other and the next generation of talent in the entertainment industry through education, partnership, and mentorship.

About The South Asian Film Fest of America
Showcasing diversity, creativity and a multi hyphenated identity, the South Asian Film Festival of America (#southasianfilmfest) is an international screening and awards platform for South Asians to showcase their films and digital work. We're a culture-impact film festival for the new generation of South Asian creatives to share their experiences and narratives through feature films, short films, web-series, and music videos with global audiences. We welcome stories from and inclusive of individuals with South Asian heritage, the diaspora, immigrants, and from the sub-continent itself.

**This event is included in the following tickets:
South Asian Film Fest [All Masterclasses]
South Asian Film Fest [ALL Screenings + Q&As + Masterclasses]