g.katkumar@gmail.com

Katyayani Kumar is an American director and writer whose cinema dissolves the boundaries between fiction and reality, ordinary and extraordinary. Her work seeks the fires still burning in forgotten corners of the world. Her feature documentary “Sons of The River,” captures one such fire in Punjab, India, where dead bodies have increasingly saturated the state’s canal. 

A Nicholl Screenwriting Quarterfinalist and Let’sDoc Fellow, Kumar believes no story is truly niche when rooted in universal emotional truths. Her lens transforms invisible struggles into visible grace, whether filming with Afghan refugees or Kenya’s Masai Tribe. 

For Kumar, filmmaking is not about capturing what is, but revealing what could be – collecting people, not just stories, along the way.

Filmography:

• Sons of The River / feature documentary / in post-production / as writer and director
• Coffined At 15 / short live action / 2022 / as writer and director
• Finding Lulu / short live action / 2022 / as writer and director

Festivals and Awards:

• Coffined At 15 / 8th International Film Festival of Shimla / Shimla, India / 2022 / Special Jury Award
• Coffined At 15 / Dances With Films Festival / World Premiere / Los Angeles, United States / 2022