PRERANA THAKURDESAI

Prerana Thakurdesai is a New York based director & producer creating films between New York and India. Prerana's work centers women's experiences, stories about grief and end-of-life conceptions. Most recently, she produced the recently premiered documentary feature, "The Last Ecstatic Days," and directed the A-DOC commissioned short doc, "The Essential Worker," which aired on the World Channel. Prerana is currently producing the CAAM-funded documentary feature, "The Last Resort," about aging as an Indian immigrant, directed by Sarita Khurana; 'Yatra,' a film about grief & mutual healing; 'Welcome Home, Jhaiji,' capturing the experiences of two South Asian women from different centuries. While in India, Prerana produced the internationally acclaimed docu-TV series, "Satyamev Jayate," watched by 600 million people worldwide. Her other credits include "9/11: The Legacy" (producer) for the History Channel, the Indian television series, "Toofan Aalaya" (co-writer & producer) hosted by one of India's biggest film personalities, Aamir Khan. She has also directed over 10 short films for Indian television news and non-profit organizations worldwide. Prerana is a 2023 Producers Guild of America fellow and the awardee of the 2023 DOCNYC Documentary New Leader honor. 

In her previous avatar, Prerana was  a print and broadcast journalist who reported from conflict zones, rural heartlands as well as on urban & political issues. Prerana's work circles around issues of social justice, identity, women and end-of-life stories.  Prerana thrives in diverse, multilingual spaces that create opportunities to learn and grow collectively.

Prerana is passionate about community building. She is the founding member of the Bitchitra Collective : Indian Women/Non-binary Artists in Documentary, and serves as the executive director of KALAKARS - a South Asian artist driven collective that aims to strengthen the presence of South Asian Americans in American film and television industries. She has also served as the president of the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA).