Shalini Kantayya

Shalini Kantayya is an American filmmaker and environmental activist based out of Brooklyn, New York whose films explore human rights at the intersection of water, food, and renewable energy. Kantayya is best known for her debut feature documentary, Catching the Sun. Born to Indian parents with a mother who emigrated to the United States, Kantayya was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut. She received a BA in Media Studies and International Human Rights from Hampshire College in Massachusetts, and an MFA in Film Direction from the City College of New York.Kantayya has received recognition from the Sundance Documentary Program, IFP Spotlight on Documentary, New York Women in Film and Television, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Jerome Hill Centennial. She is a Sundance Fellow, TED Fellow, a finalist for the ABC | DGA Directing Fellowship, and a William D. Fulbright Scholar.In 2013, Kantayya revealed in a New York Times op-ed that she had been sexually assaulted in India while there to film a project for an American based organization. She proceeded to press charges and was later diagnosed with PTSD, which inspired her to speak out against sexual assault not only in India but also the United States.

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