Alex Sangha – Co-Founder and Producer

Alex Sangha has a Master in Public Administration and Public Policy from the Department of Government at the London School of Economics.  He has a Master of Social Work from Dalhousie University, as well as a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of British Columbia with a First Class Standing.

Alex is the founder of the Sher Vancouver LGBTQ Friends Society which is a registered charity for LGBTQ South Asians and friends. Alex is a member of the Documentary Organization of Canada and DOC BC.  Alex completed the Business for Producers Course with the National Screen Institute.

Alex has produced an award-winning short documentary film entitled, My Name Was January, and his debut feature documentary film, Emergence: Out of the Shadows. Alex’s next documentary film, I, Migrant, captures the journey of newcomers and settlers from different parts of India to different parts of Canada.

Alex has received many awards and recognitions.  Most notably, he was the recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor General of Canada.

Vinay Giridhar – Co-Founder, Director, and Editor

Vinay Giridhar is a visual artist turned documentary film director who is an alumnus of Vancouver Film School’s Classical Animation program.

His award-winning debut documentary, Emergence: Out of the Shadows, has been showcased at nearly 50 established film festivals around the world including Canadian Screen Award, Academy Award, and BAFTA qualifying festivals. The film has completed nearly 40 community screenings locally in Metro Vancouver in high schools, colleges, and universities. The documentary was broadcast on television on Knowledge Network in British Columbia, TVO in Ontario, and across Canada on OUTtv, as well as on their streaming platforms.

Vinay hopes to make many more films that portray the authentic life experiences of people from diverse and marginalized communities. Originally from Kerala, India, Vinay currently calls Surrey, BC home.

Bhavesh Chauhan – Director of Photography

Bhavesh Chauhan is an independent filmmaker, music video director, and cinematographer. His career in filmmaking has spanned almost 15 years with humble beginnings making shorts with his friends in high school. Many of his films have gone on to screen and win awards at numerous film festivals around the world. Some recent productions that feature his work include shorts “Solidarity Lives,” “Prisoner,” “Lovely Mummers,” and “A Calling,” a web series pilot with TELUS StoryHive “Lux-Me,” a Crazy8s short “Mom vs. Machine, and a feature film “Jewel Fools” which screened at the Calgary International Film Festival.

Bhavesh is the Director of Photography for I, Migrant, as well as he did some cinematography on Emergence: Out of the Shadows.

Varnnitha Venugopal – Social Media and Digital Marketing Manager

Varnnitha Venugopal is originally from Kerala, India and currently lives in Surrey, B.C.  Varnnitha is the Social Media and Digital Marketing Manager for Emergence: Out of the Shadows, as well as I, Migrant. 

She has a Professional Master in Computer Science with a Big Data specialization from Simon Fraser University.  She is currently enrolled in the Applied Data Analytics Certificate program at the British Columbia Insitute of Technology.  She has worked as a Systems Engineer with Infosys Ltd. In India and in Enterprise Intelligence and Data with Vancity Savings Credit Union.