Episode 129: Nisha Ganatra Is Directing Cultural Change
Nisha Ganatra, is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actress of Indian descent.
We met this year at Sundance where I was lucky enough to see her screening of Rise, a short film focusing on the struggles of women enterpreneurs today. I first got to know her after watching Chutney Popcorn back in '99, now a cult classic, which she wrote, directed, and produced herself.
Ganatra has directed numerous television shows including Transparent, You Me Her, Better Things, Dear White People, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. She also directed the comedy-dramas Late Night and The High Note. She is also the founder of Ladies' Car Production.
We talk about her amazing 25-year journey working in Hollywood, why we are most likely related, and why she would love to get back to her indie roots.
We talked about:
Her short film Rise + how her 25-year career began (1:48)
Chasing the next achievement and dismantling the rival fallacy (10:55)
Nisha's experience of breaking into TV and noticing the shift in industry practices (17:46)
Nisha's style of directing and providing actors with notes (24:12)
Affecting cultural change through impactful art (26:44)
Reframing our conditioning to unlearn people-pleasing tendencies (29:57)
What’s next for Lady’s Car Production (32:35)
Rapid Fire Questions (36:47)
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