Aneesh Chaganty

Aneesh Chaganty (/əˈniːʃ ˈʃɑːɡənti/;[1] born January 30, 1991) is an Indian-American film director and screenwriter. He made his feature film directorial debut with the 2018 thriller Searching, for which he won the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.[2]

Aneesh Chaganty
Chaganty at RISE Conference in Hong Kong, July 2018
Born (1991-01-30) January 30, 1991
Redmond, Washington, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Southern California
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active2011–present

Early life

Aneesh Chaganty was born in Redmond, Washington,[3] and grew up in San Jose, California.[4] His parents, originally from Andhra Pradesh, India, moved to the U.S. in the 1980s.[4] His father, who obtained an MS degree in computer engineering from Drexel University, serves as a director and Chief Technology Officer at a software publishing, consultancy and supply company[5] founded by both his parents, AppEnsure Inc.[6]

Chaganty attended Valley Christian High School from 2005 to 2009.[7] He graduated from USC School of Cinematic Arts in 2013 with a degree in film and television production.[8]

Career

In 2014, Chaganty's two minute short film, a Google Glass spot called Seeds, became an internet sensation after garnering more than 1 million YouTube views in 24 hours.[9] Following its success, Chaganty was invited to join the Google 5 team at Google Creative Lab in New York City, where he spent two years developing, writing and directing Google commercials.[3]

After working on over 25 short films and videos, Chaganty directed his first feature film, Searching, which was originally pitched as a short film but was offered a production budget for a feature instead,[3] was released on August 24, 2018 before opening wide on August 31,[10] also premiering at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2018.[11]

Chaganty's second film Run, starring Sarah Paulson was originally set to be released on January 24, 2020,[12] but was pushed back to May 8, 2020.[13] It was released on Hulu on November 20, 2020.[14]

Filmography

Film
Year Film
Director Writer Notes
2011 Alibi Yes Yes Short film
2012 Monsters Yes Yes Short film
Also film editor
Microeconomics Yes No Short film
Adventure, Wisconsin Yes Yes Short film
Co-produced with Juan Sebastian Baron
2014 Google Glass: Seeds Yes Story Short film
2018 Searching Yes Yes Feature directorial debut
2020 Run[15] Yes Yes

TV roles
Year Title
Role Note
2018 Made in Hollywood Himself Season 13
  • Episode: 46

Film roles
Year Title
Role Note
2010 The Liaison Himself Short film
2014 Google Glass: Seeds Traveller Short film

Awards and nominations
YearAwardCategoryFilmResult
2018Locarno Film FestivalVariety Piazza Grande AwardSearchingNominated
Sundance Film FestivalBest of Next!Won
Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize
(shared with Sev Ohanian)		Won
Sydney Film FestivalBest Narrative FeatureNominated

References
  1. "'Searching' | Anatomy of a Scene". The New York Times. August 24, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  2. Pedersen, Erik (January 23, 2018). "'Search' Wins Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Film Prize – Sundance". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  3. "Career Lessons From A Creative Who Left A 'Dream' Job For His Dream Career". Forbes. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  4. "Aneesh Chaganty's Mother's Day message is the new viral sensation". The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  5. "Sri Chaganty : Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". Bloomberg. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  6. Zack, Jessica (August 16, 2018). "'Google Five' filmmaker Aneesh Chaganty gets smart with thriller 'Searching'". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  7. "Compelling Movie Thriller Directed & Co-Written by 2009 Alumnus Aneesh Chaganty". AMSE. April 9, 2018. Archived from the original on September 12, 2018. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  8. "SCA Alumni create viral video, "SEEDS"". USC School of Cinematic Arts. July 3, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  9. "Google Glass short film 'Seeds' hits the spot for Mother's Day". Tech Times. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  10. D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 16, 2018). "Screen Gems Adds John Cho-Debra Messing Thriller 'Searching' To August Schedule". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  11. "2018 Sundance Film Festival: Feature Films Announced". Sundance Film Festival. The Sundance Institute. November 29, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  12. Vlessing, Etan (January 31, 2019). "Lionsgate Suspense Thriller 'Run' Sets 2020 Release Date". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  13. Couch, Aaron (January 17, 2020). "Lionsgate Thriller 'Run' Release Date Pushed Back 4 Months". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  14. https://deadline.com/2020/09/aneesh-chaganty-run-release-date-hulu-sarah-paulson-kiera-allen-1234578528/
  15. McNary, Dave (June 7, 2018). "Lionsgate to Develop Thriller 'Run' From 'Searching' Filmmakers (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
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