Anshulika Kapoor, also known as Anshulika Choudhuri, is a versatile and award-winning actor, producer, and TEDx performer who is dedicated to amplifying significant global stories, with a special emphasis on women’s narratives.

With a career spanning more than a decade, Anshulika has established herself as a prominent figure in the independent entertainment industry. Her unwavering dedication to producing content that shines a light on the multifaceted experiences of women and stories that truly matter has earned her numerous prestigious awards and has left an indelible mark on the cinematic landscape.

Anshulika’s passion for storytelling knows no bounds and transcends conventional boundaries. Her captivating TEDx performance in Bengaluru, titled “The Nukkad,” breathed new life into the age-old art of storytelling, captivating audiences and showcasing her exceptional talents in both direction and performance.

Anshulika Kapoor’s upcoming film, “The Golden Cage,” is currently on an Oscar-qualifying run and is poised for a US theatrical release in September 2023. This highly anticipated project adds to her impressive body of work.

Her Previous Film, “Just Another Day,” fearlessly explores the sensitive topic of abuse during pregnancy. This impactful film has not only received numerous awards but has also gained international acclaim. Notably, “Just Another Day” represented India as the sole entry in some prestigious film festivals.

In addition to this, Anshulika’s film “Mein Mehmood” addresses the challenges of language barriers and immigrant struggles. It received the esteemed Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for Best Short Film at the 28^th Kolkata International Film Festival and has been handpicked as one of the top 20 Indian films for the Jio Cinema Film Fest, India’s largest digital film festival.

Through these projects, Anshulika Kapoor solidifies her position as a trailblazing figure in the industry, dedicated to bringing crucial women-centric and socially relevant narratives to the forefront of global cinema. Her journey is a testament to her unwavering commitment to giving a voice to stories that often go unheard, serving as an inspiration to many in the process.

Arindam Ghosh is a filmmaker specializing in micro-budget films on Indian stories with a global theme. His first film, Shyamal Uncle Turns off the Lights, was world premiered at the Busan International Film Festival and in the US, it was premiered at the Museum of Modern Arts in NY and was also shown at the Smithsonian. It won the award of Outstanding International Feature at the Reelworld Film Festival. His second film, Peace Haven, won the prestigious Script Development Award from the Asian Cinema Fund and was on Netflix. More recently he has played one of the leads in Once Upon a Time in Calcutta, which was world premiered at the Venice International and has been shown at numerous festivals in the US including the DCSAFF, DCIFF, NYIFF and LAIFF winning numerous awards.  Arindam is also the co-Artistic Director of Ebong TheatriX, a theater group in the DC area, which he co-founded in 2014. He has been performing since he was eight with his formal training in theater from Jadavpur University, India. He continued his interest in theater after immigrating to the U.S. and has been an active member of the South Asian theater community in the US for the last twenty years. He has written, directed, and acted in more than fifty productions and has performed at numerous theater festivals all over the US and in India including the Nandikar National Theater festival. His most recent production, Five Grains of Rice, which he wrote and co-directed has won critical acclaim and has been shown at various festivals including the Silver Spring One Act festival.

Mansoor Ahmed, Mansoor Ahmed (Moonie), DCSAFFs Technical Director, retired as the Division Director for Astrophysics at NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center. During the day he studies the stars and in the evening he shoots them. Moonie made his directorial debut in 2013 with the critically acclaimed film, Bhool. His passion for filmmaking can be traced back to his childhood days in Peshawar, Pakistan, where he lived across from the only English language cinema hall in the city – it wasn’t long before he became mesmerized by the world of international cinema.

Shirish Nene, Shirish Néné has served on the jury of the DC South Asian Film Festival every year since 2016, and can regularly be seen at this and other film festivals in the larger metropolitan area. A brief training period with noted Indian dramatist Badal Sircar, started a love for the visual and auditory story telling arts spanning almost forty years, and expanded from the stage to large and small screens. This passion is a family affair today, finding expression in audition workshops with his daughter an LA based actress, and film-making with a son training to be a film director in Virginia. Most recently he and his wife have joined DC Storytellers a dedicated band of moviemakers in the DC metro area.