Priyanka Verma

Priyanka Verma is a documentary filmmaker and cinematographer based in India. She is deeply invested in telling stories that help people connect with each other on a deeper, more empathic level, and challenge their perceptions of the world. She is an alumnus of AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi.

In her work, Priyanka endeavours to tell the stories of historically marginalized people. However, she also believes in including people from such communities behind her camera. This flows from her deep conviction that film should be used to validate and empower those who rarely see their experience on screen. Priyanka is passionate about the visual expressions that emerge from this approach.

With over nine years of experience, Priyanka has contributed to more than 100 films as both Director and Director of Photography. Her work as a documentary cinematographer earned her notable recognition with "Critical Juncture" (2022), which received seven nominations, including at the L.A. Independent Women Film Awards (U.S.), the Toronto International Women Film Festival (Canada), and the Women's International Film Festival Nigeria. Additionally, her cinematography for the four-part docuseries "Baited" (2023), which examines the impact of technological progress on marginalized communities in India, has been selected for screening at the Vancouver International South Asian Film Festival.

She is currently working as a co-director and producer on a series of impact documentary films for the International Solar Alliance.  

She has worked with non-profit organizations such as WaterAid India, International Justice Mission (IJM), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNICEF, Salaam Baalak Trust, Dasra, Save The Children, Give India, Gender At Work India, ALNAP, World Central Kitchen, KinderHilfe, Girls Not Brides, International Solar Alliance.

Broadcast and digital media organizations where her work has been published include Thomson Reuters, Homegrown, The Swaddle, Hindustan Times (HT Digital Streams), World Is One News (WION), Youth Ki Awaaz, 60SecondDocs, Zoomin.TV, WATConsult.

Commercial clients include Meta, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Tinder, Panasonic, Nykaa, Westside, Vistaara, ITC, Ashoka University.

In 2023, Priyanka co-founded India Doc Project - an independent initiative to bring powerful documentary films to Indian audiences. 


Filmography

Documentary

Come As You Are - Short Doc - Director & Dir. of Photography - 2022

Cigarette Stuffed Animals - Short Doc - Director & Dir. of Photography - 2022

Critical Juncture - Documentary Feature - Co-Director & Dir. of Photography - 2021 Official Selection: L.A. Independent Women Film Awards (U.S), Toronto International Women Film Festival (Canada) and Women's International Film Festival Nigeria

Baited - Documentary Series - Dir. of Photography - 2022 Official Selection: Vancouver International South Asian Film Festival

Body Pandemic - Short Doc - Director & Dir. of Photography - 2021

The Heart Revolution - Feature - Dir. of Photography (India Schedule) - 2019

Women Walk the Streets of Delhi In Memory of 'Nirbhaya' - Short Doc - Director, Producer, Cinematographer - 2018

Transgenders: Why Is It Difficult To Join The Workforce? - Short Doc - Director, Dir. of Photography - 2018

Painting One Slum At A Time- Short Doc - Producer - 2018

30 Under 30 - Ten episode doc series - HT Digital Streams - Series Producer, Director, Dir. of Photography - 2018

India's First Women - Three episode doc series - HT Digital Streams- Series Producer, Director, Dir. of Photography - 2018

Paddling with Purpose -  WION Exclusive - Co-Director, Dir. of Photography - 2017

City Spaces - Changing India - WION Exclusive - Director, Dir. of Photography - 2017 

Palliative Care - WION Exclusive - Director, Dir. of Photography - 2016

Inside The World Of Child Actors - WION Original - Director, Dir. of Photography - 2016

Broth Of Hope- WION Original - Director, Dir. of Photography - 2016

Death of An Art Form Inside Kathputli Colony -  Short Doc - Director, Dir. of Photography - 2016

The Moving Stories - Feature - Asst. Cinematographer, Asst. Producer - 2014

The Arms Drop - Feature - Addl. Cinematography- 2014

Volume One - Feature - Asst. Director - 2014

Advocacy Films

Feminist Youth Leadership Lab - Client: Gender At Work India & Star Hopper Studios - Director & Dir. of Photography - 2022

Gender Budgeting - Client: UN Women India Director & Dir. of Photography - 2022

ALNAP's 25th Anniversary - Client: ALNAP & Fat Rat Films - Dir. of Photography - 2022

Leadership and Movement Building Campaign - Client: Girls Not Brides - Director & Dir. of Photography (India schedule) - 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic and mental health: Laxmi’s story - India - Client: WHO - Dir. of Photography - 2021

Fashion Waste - A three episode series - Client: Purpose - Series Producer, Director & Dir. of Photography - 2020 

Mental Health Awareness -  A three episode series - Client: IIT Delhi  - Series Producer, Director, Dir. of Photography - 2019

The Ghastly Face of Bonded Labor - Client: IJM - Director & Dir. of Photography2019

When Each Time You Cross The Road, It's An Unpleasant Memory - Director & Dir. of Photography - 2019 

Women Manual Scavengers In India - Client: Water Aid India Director & Dir. of Photography - 2019

The Rising Stars of Delhi Slums- Client: Save The Children - Director - 2019

What Queer Indians Are Saying About Online Dating? - Client: Tinder - Director & Dir. of Photography - 2018


Fiction

Pavlov's Dog - Short - Dir. of Photography  - 2018

Rangoon - Feature - Fourth Asst. Dir. of Photography - 2015

Branded Content

Vistaraku - Client: Meta -Dir. of Photography - 2022

Accenture Sustainability Innovation Challenge Client: Accenture & Global Citizen - Director & Dir. of Photography - 2022

How To Deal With Stress & Anxiety - Mental Health  - Client: Nykaa -Dir. of Photography - 2021

Dating Ka Pehla Din - A Spoken Word | feat. Simran Natekar & Vishnu Kaushal- Dir. of Photography - 2021

Panasonic Air Conditioners - Supervising Producer - 2020

World Breastfeeding Week 2020 Pigeon India - Supervising Producer - 2020


Using Format