Tanuj Chopra

About

Tanuj Chopra has been making bold statements on film since he cut his first student project Hate Crime in the summer of 1998.  Raised in California’s Silicon Valley, his dynamic approach has taken him from India to Manhattan and back several times over.  His latest film, Butterfly, was  shot, produced, and edited entirely in New Delhi.  Starring Tilotama Shome (Alice from Mira Nair’s smash Monsoon Wedding), the lushly photographed love story won Best International Short Film at the 2003 Napa Valley Wine Country Festival, Best Short Film at the 2003 Ivy League Film Festival and the Audience Choice Award at the 2003 Asian Film Expo in Lyon, France in addition to playing at over 20 festivals across North America, Europe and India.

Chopra holds a BA in Arts Semiotics from Brown University (1999).  As an undergraduate  he wrote, directed and produced Uljhan, a ten minute short film that played in festivals in New York and Los Angeles. In 2000, produced a year-long season of Centrestage, an arts and culture television program in New Delhi, which aired on Doordushan, India’s largest television channel.  Upon his return to California, he wrote, produced, directed and starred in Big Brother (Bade Bahiya) a cutting edge narrative collage depicting South Asians in the shadow of the Bay Area Internet boom, which screened at festivals in New York and Los Angeles.  His other works include Hate-Crime, Outo, Mango in New York, and Mameet.

Along with his creative pursuits, Chopra has worked as a tutor and youth counselor for teens and organizations in California and New York.  He most recently facilitated post 9-11 filmmaking workshops for teens in Elmhurst, Queens at SAYA! (South Asian Youth Action). 

Chopra is currently enrolled in the MFA Film program at Columbia University.  A recipient of the School of the Arts Dean’s Fellowship and the FOCUS Film Fellowship, he is hard at work producing and directing his first feature length script, starring South Asian youth actors in Elmhurst, Queens.