Photo By: Ritika Telang

Mumbai Native Mrunal Mestri  began working as a Film Maker at the age of 17. A Magna Cum Laude graduate of BFA in Film Making from New York Film Academy, Mestri continued pursuing her MA in Film and Media Production and graduated from NYFA’s class of 2022. 

Her thesis film “Voler” debuted at the prestigious TCL Chinese Theatre, garnering 12 wins and 15 nominations across the globe. Her wins include “Cannes Short Film Festival”, The Canadian Screen Award Qualifying “World Fest Houston International Film Festival”, “New York International Women’s Film Festival”, “Top Shorts Film Festival”, “Short to the point”, “Center Film Festival” and many more. Her short starred Craig NG who’s a associated with the academy award winning film “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and has also won two Emmy Awards. Voler was released on movie saints, a streaming platform for independent films, in 2023. 

Her debut independent short “Malti” has received an official selection at 18 Film Festivals. The trailer of her short was also shared by a veteran Indian Actor “Amitabh Bachchan”, which lead to receiving over a million views on all major social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. The film played at “Mumbai International Short Film Festival”, “California Women’s International Film Festival”, “NEFVTA Film Festival” and “Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival”. The film’s also participated in the prestigious Dada sahib Phalke Short Film Festival and entered the Top 100 Shorts category. 

Mrunal serves as an Independent writer, director and producer and is slated to make her independent short into a web series in the year 2024. She’s currently also in the development stage for 2 short films and 3 commercials.