A warm color portrait of Chithra Jeyaram, a South Asian filmmaker, smiling directly at the camera. She's wearing a navy blue top, a stone-studded nose ring, and large semi-dome-shaped silver earrings. Her shoulder-length dark brown hair is gathered on her left shoulder.
Chithra Jeyaram
Photo: Murshitha Sheereen
Director

Chithra Jeyaram (she/her) is a filmmaker based in New York. She directs, produces, and edits documentaries and films about identity, relationships, race, art, and health. Her first exposure to filmmaking began with a failed attempt to fund a film in India. Deeply affected by that experience, she quit a decade-long career as a Physical Therapist and got an MFA in film production from The University of Texas at Austin. Her short film Mijo, aired on KLRU TV and played in 50 film festivals globally. She directed Foreign Puzzle, distributed by New Day Films, a member-owned distribution cooperative. Currently, she is making Our Daughters, a feature documentary that examines open adoption in America through an immigrant lens. In addition to Chicken & Egg pictures, Our Daughters is supported by Brown Girls Doc Mafia Sustainable Artist Grant, Jerome Foundation, Center for Asian American Media, New York State Council for the Arts, Gotham Documentary Lab & Project Market (formerly the Project Forum), Sheffield Meet Market, DOC NYC, and BFI Production Finance Market.

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