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Meera Darji
Lecturer in Media Production
Meera Darji is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and lecturer at Birmingham City University. Her independent documentary films have been awarded at international film festivals and recent experimental films have been exhibited at various exhibitions.
Biography
I am a Lecturer in BA Media Production and a filmmaker and visual artist. My practice-based research focuses on investigating cinema verité techniques to present a more inclusive, and therefore, more ‘authentic’ voice in documentary practice. I experiment with ethno-sensory practice combined with immersive technologies to tell real stories of marginalised communities in India. I would like my practice to extend by applying these methods and placing these films in sensorial environments.
Academic expertise
I have over 10 years’ experience working as a Lecturer in Media Production courses and various institutions. This includes module development and leading. I have practice-based experience with my own productions and have carried out fieldwork. I am a cinematographer and editor and relay my practice-skills to the classroom.
My independent films have been awarded at international film festivals and experimental films have been presented at various exhibitions. These include Transindia: The story of India’s Hijras won the Royal Television Society Award for Best Factual in the Midlands, UK. I also won Best Short Documentary at the Kashish Mumbai LGBT Festival in India and I was also nominated for the Sky Atlantic Grierson Award. I am an alumni of the Grierson DocLab in association with Bertha DocHouse as well as a One World Media fellow.
Current projects
My current practice-based output that I am working on is Majoor 9195, a portrait on Indian female construction workers in India. This will be my first feature documentary.
Studying your subject
‘Making a film isn't finding the answer to a question; it's trying to capture life as it is.’ This quote from Documentarian Albert Maysles has stayed with me since and I am keen to investigate the concept of truth in documentary cinema. There is so much exciting new technology, spaces and places that I would like to explore within my practice and teaching.