Today we’d like to introduce you to Aishwariyah Dhyan Vimal.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My love for filmmaking started from a very young age. I remember spending hours on Microsoft PowerPoint creating animated shorts with my sister. We would record sound, animate the characters, create stories, and screen them to our family. I never made the connection back then, I just thought that’s what all kids did. I only realized that film could be a career in my sophomore year of college. My friends and I made three video assignments, and one of them was a spoof of “THE AMAZING RACE.” My best friend and I wrote, produced, directed, filmed, and acted in it. It was so much work but was so incredibly fun. I then took a film noir class during my time at Cornell University and fell in love with the craft. It stunned me that you could tell a story just with lighting and camera movement.
After graduating from undergrad, I received my acceptance into the Film & TV Masters program at USC. I had a six months gap year so I decided to move to Bali where I created mini-documentaries for social enterprises. This was very educational to me as I had to do every role. I learnt a lot and only got attacked by monkeys once!
Then in January 2019, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue my masters. It has been such an incredible journey, not only meeting some of my greatest collaborators but also just living in the world of entertainment. I remember spending every weekend going to screenings, working on sets, or networking with some of the greatest in the industry.
It took me a while to figure out what exactly I wanted to do, but after a summer interning at Participant Media I knew I wanted to be a producer/creative executive. I love the process of taking a story from nothing and creating a work of art. Producing is the job for me because I am such a TYPE A personality and no other position would allow me to work on ten different things at the same time. After my summer at PM, I went on to intern at Searchlight Pictures, Marc Platt Productions, ImageMovers, Big Beach Films, and Silent R Management. It’s still surreal to me when I think back and realizes that I had the opportunity to work on films and with people I’ve admired my whole life.
Apart from my internship experience, I’ve also had the great opportunity to work on some incredible short films. The documentary I produced IMMIGRANT AT HOME is currently doing it’s festival route and will be premiering at the St. Louis International Film Festival this week. The narrative short entitled #WHITINA will be premiering next year. It stars Inde Navarrette (13 Reasons Why, Louis & Clark) and Xolo Mariduena (Cobra Kai, Parenthood), with the support of Kevin Hart. Right now, I am producing an independent short that will film in January.
That’s basically it! I graduate in three weeks so I’m just trying to juggle school, work, projects, and keeping my cat happy!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not!! First, being an international student has made every opportunity even harder. Not only are we restricted from applying to certain companies and studios, but we always have to fight twice as hard for any job available. This initially was very discouraging, but once I found people who vouched for me, it made it easier to believe in myself because I saw other people fighting for me.
Apart from that, I think I’ve faced the same obstacles as my fellow women of color in the industry. It does get discouraging, but having a good support system and thick skin has really helped me stay motivated.
Finally, being halfway across the world from my family has caused many lonely nights, but again we just have to keep swimming. As Hamilton says, “Immigrants we get the work done.” I know I CAN’T FAIL, and I won’t. So instead, I just listen to some good music and get motivated to kill it everyday.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am an aspiring producer and creative executive. As Todd Garner so eloquently said, I want to “make films that that dive into emotions we don’t usually tap into.” I hope to continuously make films that touch my heart and make people feel. I love walking out of a movie filled with emotions, and I can only dream of doing that with my own work.
I am proud of my determination, my taste, my ability to uplift and push people to do their best, and of course my passion. I went off to college at sixteen, and I haven’t stopped working since. It’s tough, but so so so worth it.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory has to be when my mom would make toys out of the most random objects for us. For example, we didn’t grow up wealthy but she knew we always wanted a Barbie Dreamhouse. My mother then took a cardboard box and built one with us. We painted it, stuck the walls and floors, added wallpaper, furniture, the whole works! She also used to also make little people out of eggshells and a remote control out of the egg carton. It seems so silly thinking about it now, but it really warms my heart that my mom did her best to give us everything.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
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