Manjari Makijany is one of 8 women directors chosen to be part of the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women, 2016. A recent finalist for the Warner Bros, Emerging Filmmakers Program, Manjari is an award winning short filmmaker from Mumbai, India, and has written and directed three shorts.

She was born and raised in Mumbai, India with an extensive background in film and theatre. She believes in telling compelling human stories that transcend cultures and engage audiences globally.

She graduated from Jai Hind College in Mass Media. Daughter of Bollywood actor, Mac Mohan and cousin of actress Raveena Tandon, Manjari grew up in a film family with her mind set on being a Director early on.

She’s also the second Indian woman to be ever selected for the AFI DWW where she was awarded the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation Grant for Diversity in Women Filmmakers.

Manjari now lives and works between Los Angeles and Mumbai. In 2015 she completed the Professional Program in Screenwriting at UCLA, where her script, 'City of Gold' was nominated for the Nate Wilson Award.

She recently worked on Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk and in the pre-production of Wonder Woman (2017) with Patty Jenkins. She’s also worked as the 2nd-2nd Assistant Director on ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012), ‘Mission Impossible 4’ (2011) and on Bollywood features like ‘Saat Khoon Maaf’ (2011), ‘Wake Up Sid’ (2007) and ‘Gandhi of the Month’ (2009) starring Harvey Keitel.

Her 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. The film was included as the ‘Best of Fest’ at the Clermont Ferrand Short Film Festival and screened in over 30 International festivals.

The Corner Table (2014), a 24-minute short won the ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Special Jury Mention’ at the ‘Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival’ New Delhi (2014) including a nomination for ‘Best Film’. It was also nomination 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 the showcase.

IMDb.