Shakti Bhagchandani is a filmmaker from the UAE. She completed her MFA in Screenwriting and Directing at Columbia University, where she began her career with a narrative short film titled Lostfound. The short gained recognition when it was showcased at the Sundance Film Festival, making her the first filmmaker from the UAE to be selected for the festival. Subsequently, the film was screened at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Chicago International Film Festival, and New Orleans Film Festival, among many others.
She has also co-written five additional short films: Khargosh, showcased at Palm Springs International Shortfest; Absent, a Vimeo Staff Pick that screened at Hamptons Film Festival and New Orleans Film Festival; British by the Grace of God, which premiered at Locarno Film Festival and won Best International Short at Valladolid Film Festival; How to Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom, which premiered in Best Student Shorts at Hamptons Film Festival and BFI London's 'Dare' section; and Kingdom Come, which premiered at Venice International Film Festival, won the International Jury Award at Stockholm Film Festival, and earned a London Critics' Circle Award nomination.
Currently, she is working on several projects: she recently completed Carousel (Part 1), starring Olivia Washington and Phumzile Sitole, the first installment of a three-part short film collection, with Part 2 in pre-production. She is developing a feature screenplay, Without, and also serving as editor for the BBC/BFI-backed feature The Life and Times of Sir Douglas Weatherford, starring Peter Mullen.
She is an alum of the Sundance Screenwriters Intensive Lab and a recipient of a Hollywood Foreign Press Association Fellowship. Additionally, she currently works as a full-time lecturer in screenwriting at Yale University.
Festivals
Kingdom Come
STOCKHOLM FILM FESTIVAL, SWEDEN, 2019

Kingdom Come
VENICE FILM FESTIVAL, ITALY, 2019
How to Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom
BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL, UK, 2018
Lostfound
SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL, USA, 2017
How to Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom
HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, USA, 2018

Lostfound
BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC, USA, 2017
British by the Grace of God
LOCARNO FILM FESTIVAL, SWITZERLAND, 2017
British by the Grace of God
BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL, UK, 2017
British by the Grace of God
VALLADOLID INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, SPAIN, 2017

British by the Grace of God
BRNO 16 SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, CZECH REPUBLIC, 2017
Absent
HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, USA, 2017

British by the Grace of God
ZAGREB FILM FESTIVAL, CROATIA, 2017

Lostfound
CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, USA, 2016
Absent
NEW ORLEANS FILM FESTIVAL, USA, 2017
Absent
ATLANTA FILM FESTIVAL, USA, 2017
Lostfound
NEW ORLEANS FILM FESTIVAL, USA, 2016
Lostfound
HARLEM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, USA, 2016
Rabbit
PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL SHORTSFEST, USA, 2015
Lostfound
FEMINIST BORDER ARTS FILM FESTIVAL, USA, 2017

Lostfound
CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, USA, 2016
Rabbit
LONDON INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL, UK, 2015

Rabbit
INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL OF LOS ANGELES, USA, 2015

Fellowships
Fellow
SUNDANCE SCREENWRITERS INTENSIVE LAB, 2016
Fellow
HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION FELLOWSHIP, 2014-2015
Press
Interview: Shakti Bhagchandani, the First Screenwriter/Director from the UAE
SCREEN QUEENS (05/24/2019)
Rising Star: Shakti Bhagchandani
THRIVE GLOBAL (04/12/2019)
Rising Star: Shakti Bhagchandani
AUTHORITY MAGAZINE (04/11/2019)
How Censorship Made Me a Filmmaker
WOMEN & HOLLYWOOD (03/14/2019)
Interview with Agnes Films
AGNES FILMS (03/11/2019)
Review: How to Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom
NEW CINEMA CLUB (02/12/2019)
All the Female Directors in the BFI London Film Festival
BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE (10/11/2018)
Interview with We Are Moving Stories
WE ARE MOVING STORIES (02/02/2017)
How These 20 Sundance Festival Films Got Their Start in the Sundance Labs
INDIEWIRE (01/22/2017)
Sundance Short Film Lineup is About 50 Percent Women-Directed
WOMEN & HOLLYWOOD (12/09/2016)