Academy-Award nominated film director Mira Nair is best known for her groundbreaking films that cross borders of all kinds: SALAAM BOMBAY! (Caméra D’or, Cannes 1988), the pioneering Asian-African romance MISSISSIPPI MASALA (1991), Golden Globe & Emmy-winning HYSTERICAL BLINDNESS (2001), and the international hit MONSOON WEDDING (2001), for which she was the first woman to win Venice Film Festival’s prestigious Golden Lion. Also known for her literary craftsmanship of subcontinental fiction, Mira has filmed THE NAMESAKE (2006), THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST (2012), VANITY FAIR (2004), A SUITABLE BOY (2020) and QUEEN OF KATWE (2016). Her most recent endeavor was directing MONSOON WEDDING THE MUSICAL, which opened in New York City in May 2023 and is bound for Broadway. Nair’s next film will be AMRI, an experimental portrait of Amrita Sher-Gil.

An activist by nature, Nair founded Salaam Baalak Trust for Indian street children in 1988 and the Maisha Film Lab in 2004, a free school to train filmmakers in Africa. In 2012, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honour.