alakananda nag’s Profile
alakananda nag’s Profile
- Nowhere People
- 15Dec2012
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- Where do I belong? Who am I? I don’t understand. Even an Indian dog has a better life.” Mohammad Shahjamal Sheikh, enclave dweller. The India – Bangladesh border is deceptive. After partition in 1947, scattered pockets of India remained in Bangladesh territory and vice versa. For over 60 years these pieces of land have remained disputed, and its people, in limbo. There are 102 Indian enclaves or ‘chitmahal’ on the...
- Armenians of Calcutta
- 22May2012
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BIOGRAPHY
www.alakanandanag.com
Alakananda Nag was born in June 1977 in Calcutta, India. She began her career as a photojournalist in 2009. She has since worked on journalistic projects based on social issues in India and the United States including : Welcome to Haven – a look at a South Bronx neighborhood in New York, one of the poorest in the United States; Sunderbans – The Forgotten Islands, In Transit – Tibetans in India., among others.
She graduated in Documentary Photography & Photojournalism from the International Center of Photography, New York. She worked in TV commercials in Bombay for nine years before she decided to switch careers. She worked as a Chief Assistant Director, & Executive Producer. She went on to work as a Producer for TV commercials.
She is presently working on her long term project : Armenains of Calcutta. Having grown up in the city, she was familiar with the Armenians as a people. She has now returned to explore deeper and tell their stories.
Awards : Winner - Cannes Lions 2010 for the TV spot 'LJ Collective' for BBDO India.
Winner - Hubert Bals Fund Award by the Rotterdam Film Festival, 2008
Winner - Celebrate Bandra photo festival 2009
Scholarship for workshop with Magnum photographer Abbas awarded by Bilder Nordic School of Photography, Norway.
A l a k a n a n d a N a g
Photographer / filmmaker New Delhi +919899215776 info@alakanandanag.com www.alakanandanag.com
Curriculum Vitae
2009 - 2013 PHOTOGRAPHER / FILMMAKER
PROJECTS
Nowhere People – A multi media project on the lives of the people living precariously in the Indo-Bangladesh enclaves without any identity or rights.
Land Rights March – A historic march by over 100,000 indigenous people from all over India who came together to walk for their rights across India up to New Delhi. A few weeks after the completion of the film the government promised land to the landless.
Farmer Suicides – A photo project on the controversial issue. Over 200,000 farmers have committed suicide in the last fifteen years due to an inability to pay back money lenders.
Welcome to Haven : A photo essay & photo film on one of the poorest neighborhoods in the United States, Mott Haven in the Bronx, dealing with mothers who lost their children to stray bullets in the neighborhood.
Sunderbans – The Forgotten Islands. Ecologically one of the most sensitive places in the world, the mangrove forest and its islands are sinking, wrecked often by tidal storms.
Armenians of Calcutta – A long term project that looks into the lives of Calcutta’s oldest yet smallest minority community.
In Transit in Dharamsala – A look at the lives of Tibetan refugees in Dharamsala.
CLIENTS
UNICEF (contract), Oxfam GB, Action Aid, BBC, Government of India, (Ministry of Health), BBC World Service Trust (HIV awareness), Himal South Asian, Motherland Magazine, Harlem Black Coffee Magazine (cover photograph), Oxfam Novib & Dutch national television, Wall Street Journal.
EXHIBITIONS
2012 : Photoville Photo Festival (curated by FotoVisura), New York
2012 : Angkor Photo Festival, Siam Reap, Cambodia
2011 : ‘Capture & Release’ International Center of Photography, New York
AWARDS
WINNER - Film Craft Lions at Cannes Lions 2010. Client: LJ Collective Blues Workshops, Agency: BBDO India.
WINNER - Rotterdam Film Festival’s Hubert Bals Award Fund for ‘The Most Promising Feature Project’ at the International Film Festival of India’s (IFFI), Film Bazaar Goa, 2008
Scholarship awarded by Bilder Nordic School of Photography, Norway
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
2007 – 2009
Producer TV Commercials, Flying Saucer, Mumbai
Managed the office, 2 full time directors and a crew of 80 / 100. Liaised with advertising agency creative heads and corporate clients, negotiated budgets and creative decisions. Ran the business, handled client relations, employee relations, delivered under very tights schedules. Responsible for company’s image building.
2006 – 2007
Line Producer, ‘The Japanese Wife’ (feature film)
Recruited key technicians like cinematographer, music director, editor, rental houses. Filmed in Japan under strict budgetary constraints. The film won international as well as national awards.
2005 – 2006
Creative Consultant, IFB Industries Ltd. Helped change the image. Drafted a strategy, commissioned jobs to filmmakers, and the advertising agency, working very closely on the design aspects ultimately working toward making the brand more accessible and relatable to the consumer.
2000 – 2005
Chief Assistant Director, TV Commercials, Mumbai.
Brands : Volkswagen, Nokia, Unilever, Cadbury’s. Pepsi, Asian Paints, Axa Life Insurance, MTV, among others.
TECHNICAL SKILLS
Adobe Lightroom, Photo Mechanic, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Final Cut Pro, Microsoft Office
EDUCATION
2011 : Documentary Photography & Photojournalism – International Center of Photography, New York
2000 : Bachelors of Arts (English Literature) Sophia College, Mumbai
DATE OF BIRTH 15th June, 1977
Stats:
- Albums Published:
- 2
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- Number of Connections:
- 7
