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SEP CREATOR

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Shruti
Parekh

Shruti Parekh is an Atlanta-bred, Brooklyn-based filmmaker who tells stories of self-discovery and subversion. Her award-winning work spans fiction, documentary, journalism, animation and visual art.

BIOGRAPHY

Director/
Writer/Producer

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Her short film, Zari, is a coming-of-age tale about American-born Neelu who feels like a fish out of water amidst preparations for her sister’s wedding in Mumbai, until she forges a brief and unexpected connection with Zeyb, a quiet sari store clerk who leads a secret life as“Zari,” a beloved internet drag queen. It recently won the Grand Jury Award for New York Short Film & Audience Award for Best Narrative Short at 36th Annual NewFest Film Festival, as well as the Audience Award at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival

 

In 2023, she won the CAPE/Janet Yang Productions Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge to direct her narrative short film "Zari" in Delhi, India. Shruti’s previous project as a writer/director, "Esperanza," won Best Narrative Short at the Portland Film Festival, Best Student Short at Ojai Film Festival, and Best Screenplay at Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival. Previously, Shruti’s issue-driven work as a digital video journalist at Gizmodo Media Group garnered millions of views.

As an editor, she has worked on award-winning documentaries and edited for clients such as Food & Wine, Vanity Fair, Elizabeth Arden, Chowhound, and Yellowbrick. Shruti got her start making music videos and working as an assistant to the acclaimed director Mira Nair on her 2013 film, “The Reluctant Fundamentalist.” Shruti has a BA from Brown University and an MFA in Directing from UCLA, where she received the Jack Nicholson Distinguished Student Director Award and the Edie and Lew Wasserman Film Production Fellowship. She is currently finishing her fourth short film, “Homebody.”

PROJECTS

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Featured
Project

ZARI

“Zari” is a 19-minute cross-cultural coming of age short film that explores queerness, gender expression, and identity, set in and around a Delhi sari store amidst preparations for a wedding.

AWARDS

NewFest 

Grand Jury Prize for New York Narrative Short (Zari)

NewFest 

 Audience Award for Narrative Short (Zari)

San Luis Obispo International Film Festival

Audience Award for Narrative Short (Zari)

Portland Film Festival

Best Narrative Short (Esperanza)

Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival

Best Screenplay

Ojai Film Festival 

Best Student Short

South Asian Film Festival of Montreal 

Best Short Fiction

South Asian Film Festival of America 

Audience Award for Narrative Short

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PRESS

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Zari to Screen at Inaugural Napa Valley Asian American Film Festival
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Highlighting Films from CAPE: API Women + Nonbinary Filmmakers
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South Asian Filmmaking Spotlighted At CAAMFest 2025
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Mountain Mayhem: The 34th edition of Shortsfest
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Shruti Parekh: Award Winning Filmmaker & Director of Zari

Apply For Our Incubator Program

We are looking for emerging film industry creators whose work embodies our mission's principles. Creators should consider themselves actively looking for ways to expand their networks, grow creatively, and support to advance their projects. For creators with a single project in film or theater and/or their representing parties, please see our Pitch Portal.

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