{{Short description|British-Indian film director}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2026}} {{Use British English|date=January 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = England | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = Filmmaker | years_active = 2005–present | known_for = | notable_works = ''Santosh'' }}
'''Sandhya Suri''' is a British-Indian film director and documentarian.<ref name="sun">{{cite web |title=Sundance Institute Selects Eight First-Time Filmmakers for Directors Lab, May 30-June 23 |url=https://www.sundance.org/blogs/news/2016-directors-lab/ |website=Sundance |access-date=2 May 2024}}</ref> She is known for her debut feature film ''Santosh'' (2024),which she wrote and directed.
== Early life and education == Sandhya Suri was born in England and raised in Darlington.<ref name="stars">{{cite web |last1=Dalton |first1=Ben |title=Stars of Tomorrow 2023: Sandhya Suri (writer-director) |url=https://www.screendaily.com/features/stars-of-tomorrow-2023-sandhya-suri-writer-director/5183306.article |website=Screen Daily |access-date=2 May 2024}}</ref> Her father, Yash Pal Suri, had emigrated from India to work as a doctor at a hospital in Teesside.<ref name="guard">{{cite news |last1=French |first1=Philip |title=I for India |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/aug/05/drama.worldcinema |access-date=2 May 2024 |agency=The Guardian}}</ref>
After earning a degree in mathematics, Suri worked as a teacher in Japan. Her experiences documenting this period on camera inspired her to study documentary filmmaking at the National Film and Television School in Buckinghamshire.<ref name="sun" /><ref name="stars" />
== Career == In 2005, Suri released the documentary ''I for India'', detailing her father's experiences as a 20th-century Indian immigrant in the United Kingdom, based on his own tape recordings.<ref name="guard" /> ''I for India'' was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.<ref name="imubi">{{cite web |title=I for India - Awards & Festivals |url=https://mubi.com/en/us/films/i-for-india |website=MUBI |access-date=2 May 2024}}</ref>
Suri's second film, the silent 2018 documentary ''Around India with a Movie Camera'', used archival British Film Institute footage to explore life in British India.<ref name="camera">{{cite web |last1=Kripalani |first1=Coonoor |title=Around India with a Movie Camera: Film Review Essay by Coonoor Kripalani |url=https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/around-india-with-a-movie-camera/ |website=Association for Asian Studies |access-date=2 May 2024}}</ref> That same year, Suri released the narrative short film ''The Field'',<ref name="field">{{cite web |last1=Bartlett |first1=Penelope |title=Love at Harvest Time: A Conversation with Sandhya Suri |url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6962-love-at-harvest-time-a-conversation-with-sandhya-suri |website=Criterion |access-date=2 May 2024}}</ref> which was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Short Film in 2019.<ref name="stars" />
Suri's narrative feature debut, ''Santosh'' was selected to screen in the ''Un Certain Regard'' portion of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.<ref name="forbes">{{cite news |last1=Kaushal |first1=Sweta |title=Two Indian Films In Official Selection At Cannes Film Festival 2024 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/swetakaushal/2024/04/12/two-indian-films-are-official-selection-at-cannes-film-festival-2024/?sh=7a207d0226cb |access-date=2 May 2024 |agency=Forbes}}</ref> She first began work on Santosh in 2016 when she was accepted to the Sundance Institute Director's Lab.<ref name="sun" />
== Filmography == {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Notes ! scope="col" | Ref. |- ! scope="row" | 2005 | ''I for India'' | Documentary | align="center" | <ref name="guard" /> |- ! scope="row" rowspan="2" | 2018 | ''Around India with a Movie Camera'' | Documentary | align="center" | <ref name="camera" /> |- | ''The Field'' | Short film | align="center" | <ref name="field" /> |- ! scope="row" | 2024 | ''Santosh'' | {{N/a}} | align="center" | <ref name="forbes" /><ref name="PIO Sandhya Suri's thriller 'Santosh', shot in UP, named UK's Oscar entry">{{cite news |title=PIO Sandhya Suri's thriller 'Santosh', shot in UP, named UK's Oscar entry |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pio-sandhya-suris-thriller-santosh-shot-in-up-named-uks-oscar-entry/articleshow/113683623.cms |access-date=14 March 2025 |work=The Times of India |date=26 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250314095826/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pio-sandhya-suris-thriller-santosh-shot-in-up-named-uks-oscar-entry/articleshow/113683623.cms |archive-date=14 March 2025}}</ref> |}
== Awards and nominations == {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Award ! scope="col" | Category ! scope="col" | Nominated work ! scope="col" | Result ! scope="col" | Ref. |- ! scope="row" | 2006 | Sundance Film Festival | Grand Jury Prize | ''I for India'' | {{Nominated}} | align="center" | <ref name="imubi" /> |- ! scope="row" rowspan="3" | 2018 | British Independent Film Awards | Best Short Film | rowspan="6" | ''The Field'' | {{Nominated}} | align="center" | <ref name="fmubi">{{cite web |title=The Field (2018) - Awards & Festivals |url=https://mubi.com/en/films/the-field-2018/awards |website=MUBI |access-date=2 May 2024}}</ref> |- | London Film Festival | Best Short Film | {{Nominated}} | align="center" | <ref name="fmubi" /> |- | Toronto International Film Festival | Best International Short Film | {{Won}} | align="center" | <ref name="fmubi" /> |- ! scope="row" rowspan="3" | 2019 | BAFTA Film Awards | Best Short Film | {{Nominated}} | align="center" | <ref name="fmubi" /> |- | Melbourne International Film Festival | Best Fiction Short Film | {{Won}} | align="center" | <ref name="fmubi" /> |- | Sundance Film Festival | Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film | {{Nominated}} | align="center" | <ref name="fmubi" /> |- ! scope="row" | 2024 | Cannes Film Festival | Un Certain Regard | ''Santosh'' | {{Nominated}} | align="center" | <ref name="forbes" /> |}
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{IMDb name|nm2119066}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suri, Sandhya}} Category:British women documentary filmmakers Category:English documentary filmmakers Category:English women film directors Category:English people of Indian descent Category:Living people Category:People from Darlington Category:Year of birth missing (living people)