Chronicle 2017

PROFILES

Giving voice JULIA (INDRANI) PAL-CHAUDHURI 1991

Profile by Jessica Parry 2007

The Class of 1991’s Julia (Indrani) Pal- Chaudhuri is a prolific and talented photographer and filmmaker. To date, her work has been featured in 28 exhibitions around the world, her recent films have won 24 awards and she has published a book of celebrity images, Icons . Equally notable is Indrani’s ability to use her talent to further the social causes that interest her and to tell the stories of people who are often overlooked by society.

Indrani sees filmmaking as a powerful medium for sharing ideas about our identities and what is important to us as a global society. She believes that it is tremendously important for women to play a role in capturing and presenting these visual images. “The male gaze dominates the film industry, controlling 90 per cent of U.S. and Canadian content,” says Indrani. “This dramatically skews not only the way women are represented, but the way we see ourselves and our

Photography has been important to Indrani from an early age. Because she emigrated from India with her family when she was six years old, she did not see extended family or friends until after high school. During this absence, photographs linked her to her family and to her past. She soon started to seek out opportunities in the field. She was modelling by age 14. Between graduating from Havergal and starting her studies in anthropology at Princeton, she took two years to become a professional photographer. Part of what drew Indrani to film and photography was a desire to understand people and how they live. Her interest in anthropology came in part from her social science studies with Ms. Somerville. Her anthropologist’s unique perspective on different cultures complemented her work in photography. “People’s decisions are reflected in the way they present themselves and organize their social environments,” explains Indrani. “Photography can visually represent these decisions.”

role in the world.” Indrani uses her role as a filmmaker to give a voice to individuals and communities who are not always heard. Before university, she co-founded the Shakti Empowerment Education School, a women’s empowerment school for children and their mothers. As a fashion and celebrity photographer, however, her work was disconnected from the social causes that she valued. Recent projects have enabled her to bridge this gap. Her film and stills campaign – Digital Death for Keep a Child Alive – featuring 25 celebrities posed in coffins, raised more than a million dollars to fight AIDS in Africa and India. She directed Girl Rising India , in which Bollywood stars highlight the importance of female empowerment in India. Today, Indrani is working on several feature films centred on powerful women overcoming obstacles. She finds it exciting to be making these kinds of films at a time when audiences are hungering for stories about women.

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