The Alumni Spotlight is a place to hear from the School of the Arts alumni community about their journeys as artists and creators.
Smriti Mundhra '09 has been working in the film and television industry for over ten years. With partner Ben Rekhi, she produced Bomb the System, a 2004 Independent Spirit Award nominee for “Best First Feature”, and the award-winning feature film Waterborne. She also co-produced Punching at the Sun, an official selection of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. In addition she has received over one dozen award-winning short films, including the 2010 Sundance Film Festival official selection and the 2016 Women in Film award. In 2009, she was given the “Mira Nair Rising Female Filmmaker” Award by the Harlem Film Festival.
Was there a specific faculty member or peer who especially inspired you while at the School of the Arts? If so, who and how?
So many of them. At the time we started this project, Maureen Ryan had just completed Man on Wire and gave us so much helpful, real-world advice and resources. And our community of fellow filmmakers is largely comprised of our colleagues from Columbia, they were heavily involved in giving us feedback throughout the rough cut process. We also worked with several of our Columbia colleagues to make this film, including Andre de Alencar Lyon, who was our cinematographer, Shrihari Sathe, Maya Anand, Tanuj Chopra and others.
How did attending the School of the Arts impact your work and career as an artist?
The time I spent at Columbia was sacred - it was when I felt complete freedom creatively and really discovered my voice as a filmmaker.
What were the most pressing social/political issues on the minds of the students when you were here?
The year I graduated was the year the economy collapsed, so that was a huge issue. I remember the front page headline in the New York Times on the morning of graduation was something about how that year's graduates are entering in the toughest job force and worst economy since the Depression. Fun!
What was your favorite or most memorable class while at the School of the Arts?
Richard Peña's film history classes, for sure, and Chris Kelly's screenwriting class, though for complex reasons.
