Sonali Gulati is an

Indian American Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...

independent filmmaker An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...

, feminist, grass-roots activist, and educator. Gulati grew up in New Delhi, India. Her mother, a teacher and textile designer, raised her independently, getting single custody for her at a young age. Sonali settled in the United States of America at age 20. She has made several films that have screened at over five hundred film festivals worldwide. Her films have screened at venues such as the Hirshhorn Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and at film festivals such as the Margaret Mead Film Festival, the Black Maria Film Festival, Slamdance Film Festival, and BlackStar Film Festival. She has an MFA in Film & Media Arts from

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

, and a BA in Critical Social Thought from

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. ...

. She is currently a professor at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

's Department of Photography & Film. Sonali gave birth to son Rohan Jhaveri with partner Geeta Jhaveri in December 2011.

Film

Sonali Gulati has made several short films and a feature-length documentary film. Gulati's award-winning 2005 documentary film, ''

Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night ''Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night'' is a 2005 documentary film by filmmaker Sonali Gulati. This film explores business process outsourcing in India. Told from the perspective of an Indian living in the United States, the film provides a glimpse i ...

'' explores

business process outsourcing in India Business process outsourcing to India refers to the business process outsourcing services in the outsourcing industry in India, catering mainly to Western operations of multinational corporations (MNCs). As of 2012, around 2.8 million people w ...

. The film was broadcast on public television in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, The Middle East, South Asia and North Africa. Her film I AM has won 14 awards and continues to exhibit extensively. Gulati's award-winning documentary film I Am was broadcast on public television and cable TV in the U.S. and Portugal. Her documentary film Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night, was broadcast on television in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Asia, and North Africa.

Awards

Gulati is a Guggenheim Fellow in Film. She has won awards, grants, and fellowships from the Third Wave Foundation, World Studio Foundation, the Robert Giard Memorial Fellowship, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship, the Theresa Pollak Prize for Excellence in the Arts, the

Center for Asian American Media The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) was founded in 1980. The San Francisco-based organization, formerly known as the National Asian American Telecommunications Association (NAATA), has grown into the largest organization dedicated to the adv ...

(CAAM), VCU School of the Arts Faculty Award of Excellence, grants from

Creative Capital Creative Capital is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in New York City that supports artists across the United States through funding, counsel, gatherings, and career development services. Since its founding in 1999, Creative Capital has commi ...

and was a Guggenheim Fellow in Film/Video in 2013. Her film ''I AM'' won several awards in the US and India: * Gay/Lesbian festival prize (2011), Great Lakes Film Festival * Special Jury Awards (2011), KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival * Audience choice award for documentary feature (2011), Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival

Filmography

*''Occupy'' ''(2022)'' *''Bye Bye Lullaby'' (2022) *''Miles & Kilometres'' (2021) *''Big Time-my doodled diary'' (2015) *''I Am'' (2011) *''24 Frames per Day'' (2008) *''

'' (2005) *''Where is there Room?'' (2002) *''Name I Call Myself'' (2001) *''Barefeet'' (2000) *''Sum Total'' (1999)

Writings

* "Place of Safe Landing" Queer Potli - Memories, Imaginations and Re-Imaginations of Urban Queer Spaces in India, ed. Pawan Dhall, QI Publishing, 2016 * "The Fight to Live", Outlook, Outlook Publishing Group, 2 July 2015 * "Welcome to Your Own Festival: Review on Nigah QueerFest’07." Biblio: A Review of Books, Vol. XII Nos. 5 & 6, June 2007 * "Confessions of a Desidyke: A Filmmaker’s Journey from Ignorance." Trikone Magazine, Vol. 20, No.4 March 2006 * "Sum Total." Because I Have a Voice, Queer Politics in India, ed. Arvind Narrain and Gautam Bhan, Yoda Press, 2005

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulati, Sonali Mount Holyoke College alumni Film directors from Delhi Women artists from Delhi Indian LGBT artists Queer artists 1972 births Living people LGBT film directors Indian women activists 20th-century Indian women artists 21st-century Indian women artists Indian emigrants to the United States American women writers of Indian descent American film directors of Indian descent American people of Punjabi descent American documentary film directors Indian women film producers Hindi-language film directors Indian women screenwriters Indian documentary film directors 21st-century Indian film directors American women documentary filmmakers English film directors Lesbian feminists Lesbian writers LGBT producers LGBT screenwriters Feminist artists American women artists of Indian descent Artists from Virginia Film directors from Virginia 21st-century American women artists 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American artists 20th-century Indian film directors English-language film directors Virginia Commonwealth University faculty Temple University alumni American women academics Indian women film directors