Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari is an Indian filmmaker, writer, author, artist, an upcoming producer and learner for life. She is a warm, amiable and an intellectual personality. An avid bibliophile by nature, Ashwiny has a huge collection of books. She holds a keen interest in the overall art of movie making which reflects in her diverse body of work. Empowering and promoting Girl education, Revival and documentation of Indian craft & sustainable textiles are social causes close to Ashwiny's heart. She is also an environment lover and is passionate about organic farming. Hoping that one day she will settle in a huge farm, she believes in the idea of a simple, mindful living and is a meditation practitioner. Ashwiny started her career as a creative consultant for films like Children's Party (2011) and Bhoothnath Returns (2014). After winning prestigious awards like the 'Dada Saheb Phalke Award for Best Short Film' (2013) and 'Special Jury Award for Best Director & Screenplay' (2013) for her short film titled 'What's for Breakfast', she made her foray into Bollywood as a director. Her first feature film, Nil Battey Sannata (2015), later remade in Tamil as Amma Kanakku (2016) were highly acclaimed. 'Nil Battey Sannata' (2016) was loved by audience and critics alike and helped spread the message of education for all. It won several awards, nationally and internationally including awards such as 'Best Debut Director' at Filmfare Awards (2017) as well as 'Best Story' at Star Screen Awards (2017) for the same. The film was also screened at renowned international film festivals such as, London Film festival, Rome Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, Cleveland Film Festival, alongside others. Her next film, Seeking True Love (2017), starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Kriti Sanon and Rajkummar Rao was a slice of life romantic comedy that won several popular and critically acclaimed awards including the 'Best Director' award at Filmfare Awards (2018) and Zee Cine Awards (2018) respectively. Her latest film, Panga (2020) starring Kangana Ranaut and Jassie Gill in the lead, was critically acclaimed. Panga (2020) and one of the last movies released in theatres before the Covid Pandemic hit. Panga was an important conversation starter around sports and motherhood. Ashwiny was chosen in BBC worldwide as an Indian Changemakers in cinema for telling stories about woman in not-so-famous sports. With Her short film Ghar ki Murgi (Taken for Granted) Ashwiny represented India at the BRICS film festival, it also found a place at the Shangai International festival. Ashwiny holds the recognition of being one of the five female directors from BRICS countries to be selected to showcase their respective work during the fest and spread the message of equality. Ashwiny is constant learner of new things. She loves photography, Classical music, she is a solo traveler and researcher, A sports lover, has a keen interest in yoga philosophy, plays badminton and loves cycling. She has a keen interest in learning new languages and is well versed with Hindi, English, Marathi, Tamil, Gujrati, Malayalam and Bengali Ashwiny has excelled at her academics and is a gold medallist in 'Commercial Arts' from Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai. Post her graduation, she worked in the advertising field for over a decade and weaved stories for the biggest brands across India and Southeast Asia. She has won several awards in advertising across the world for her layered ideas and in-depth understanding of human psychology at a grassroot level.

In the year 2020, Ashwiny was selected by Forbes Magazine as 'A self-made woman of India'. After having told such incredibly well-knit stories with such great social messages, she has channeled her love for storytelling with her latest brainchild, 'Earthsky Pictures. A production company co-founded by her to write, direct & produce fiction, documentary series, movies with leading studio partners and nurture young talent. The critically acclaimed and award-winning director will also be soon making her debut as an author of a novel titled 'Mapping Love' published by Rupa publications. Her upcoming untitled Feature film is based on the life story of India's most loved power couple, Father of Indian IT, Mr. Narayan Murthy and Author Mrs. Sudha Murthy. She has forayed into the web space with her debut series 'Faadu' with Sony LIV and has many more in the pipeline. Ashwiny feels that any form of art changes the way a human sees the world, whether it's' music, dance, or painting - storytelling has all encapsulated. She believes that she can dabble in every art form and research, which also encompasses a major part of her filmmaking process. It is this joy to create, uplift young minds and inspire humanity through her stories is what keeps her going.