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 work spanning over nine years, she has been a part of over 100 films as a Director & Director of Photography. As a documentary cinematographer, her film ‘Critical Juncture’ (2022) received seven nominations which includes, L.A. Independent Women Film Awards (U.S), Toronto International Women Film Festival (Canada) and Women's International Film Festival Nigeria. Her work, as a cinematographer on a four-part docuseries, 'Baited’ (2023) which explores the cost marginalised communities pay for technological progress in India, has been selected to screen at the Vancouver International South Asian Film Festival.
She is currently working as a cinematographer on a long format documentary film about the lives of the gig economy workers in India. The film is commissioned by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
She has worked with non-profit organizations such as Water Aid 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.
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, Ashoka University.
In 2023, Priyanka co-founded India Doc Project - an independent initiative to bring powerful documentary films to Indian audiences.
- Interaction Doc Workshop - 2023
- Docedge Kolkata - 2023
- National Film Development Corporation Screen Writing Course - 2020
Professional Trainings:
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 Photography - 2019
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