She/Her/Hers 
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Biography
CHITHRA JEYARAM (She/Her) is a physical therapist turned filmmaker with an MFA in Film from the University of Texas in Austin. She specializes in one-person crew independent documentaries. She identifies as Tamil. Her work prioritizes subverting stereotypes by framing narratives that highlight perspectives, struggles, and intricacies that are left out. Her short film, Rags to Pads is the story of a husband, Muruganadham who destigmatized menstruation and framed it as a societal issue, not just a women’s issue. Her next film, Foreign Puzzle examines the true impact of cancer by contrasting the making and performance of a stirring dance against the backdrop of intense medical/surgical procedures and the challenges of being a single mother. In addition to directing and producing her work, she edits - One Thousand and One Berber Nights (2023, Feature), Look Like You (2022, Short Narrative), an episode for CBSN Speaking Frankly Series: Symbolic Justice (2020), and 9 Degrees (2019, Short Doc). She is an adjunct faculty at NYU and Vassar. She is an active organizer and member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia and Bitchitra Collective. Chithra is an alumnus of Visions Du Reel RoughCut Lab, Chicken, and (Egg)Celerator Lab, Brown Girls Doc Mafia Artist Fellowship, Gotham Documentary Fellowship, and Jerome Foundation. Her work has been featured on 2M, PBS, CBSN, Apple TV, Revry, Kanopy, SXSW, and DOC NYC.
Films