Aneesh Chaganty

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Aneesh Chaganty
File:Aneesh Chaganty, 2018 (cropped).jpg
Chaganty at the 2018 RISE Conference in Hong Kong
Born1991 or 1992
Redmond, Washington, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Southern California
Occupations
Years active2011–present
Children1[1]

Aneesh Chaganty (/əˈniːʃ ˈtʃɑːɡənti/;[2]Telugu pronunciation: [əniːʂ tʃɑːɡəɳʈi] born 1991 or 1992) is an American film director and screenwriter. He made his feature film directorial debut with the 2018 thriller Searching, for which he won the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

Early life and education

[edit | edit source]

Aneesh Chaganty was born in 1991 or 1992[3] in Redmond, Washington,[4] and grew up in San Jose, California.[5] His parents, originally from Andhra Pradesh, India, moved to the U.S. in the 1980s.[5] His father, who obtained an MS degree in computer engineering from Drexel University, serves as a director and Chief Technology Officer at a software publishing, consultancy and supply company[6] founded by both his parents, AppEnsure Inc.[7]

Chaganty attended Valley Christian High School from 2005 to 2009.[8] He graduated from USC School of Cinematic Arts in 2013 with a degree in film and television production.[9]

Career

[edit | edit source]

2014–2017: early career

[edit | edit source]

In 2014, Chaganty's two-minute short film, a Google Glass spot called Seeds, became an internet sensation after garnering more than 1 million YouTube views in 24 hours.[10] Following its success, Chaganty was invited to join the Google 5 team at Google Creative Lab in New York City, where he spent two years writing and directing Google commercials. He also made one for Super Bowl.[4]

2018-2023: Searching film series

[edit | edit source]

After working on over 25 short films and videos, Chaganty directed his first feature film, Searching, which was originally pitched as a short film but was offered a production budget for a feature instead,[4] was released on August 24, 2018 before opening wide on August 31,[11] also premiering at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2018.[12]

Chaganty's second film Run, a thriller starring Sarah Paulson and Kiera Allen, was set to be released on January 24, 2020,[13] then May 8, 2020,[14] but was pushed back because of the COVID-19 pandemic, was released on Hulu on November 20, 2020.[15] Run became Hulu‘s most watched feature title ever during its opening weekend beating not only all previously watched Hulu Originals Films, but also licensed SVOD film titles, and ranked as the most talked about Hulu Original Film to date on Twitter.[16] It was later released internationally by Netflix on April 2, 2021.[17]

Missing, an anthology sequel to Searching, was premiered at Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2023 and released theatrically on January 20.[18] Chaganty wrote the story with Sev Ohanian and they co-produced it alongside Natalie Qasabian.[19] It was released by Netflix on May 20, 2023 and became number one most streamed movie in the US in just two days, where it dominated the Top 10 chart for a week [20] and was watched for 5.2 million hours during that first week on the platform streaming giant.[21]

2024-present

[edit | edit source]

In 2024, Chaganty collaborated with Meta in partnership with Blumhouse to make a short film using Meta Movie Gen, an AI video generating tool by the tech giant, titled i h8 ai.[22][23] The short film was featured on Meta's Movie Gen site and their YouTube channel.[24]

Recognition

[edit | edit source]

Chaganty was included in the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Hollywood & Entertainment list.[25]

In 2021, he was featured in the December issue of Vanity Fair, representing Gold House as an AAPI leading member.[26]

Filmography

[edit | edit source]

Short films

[edit | edit source]
Year Film
Director Writer Notes
2007 Nug Yes Yes Also film editor and producer
2008 The Sound of Evanescence Yes Yes Also film editor
2009 Starving! Yes Yes Also film editor
2011 Alibi Yes Yes
2012 Monsters Yes Yes Also film editor
Microeconomics Yes No
Adventure, Wisconsin Yes Yes Also sound editor and producer
2014 Seeds Yes Yes Sponsored by Google Glass
2024 i h8 ai Yes Yes partnered with Blumhouse for Meta Movie Gen

Feature films

[edit | edit source]
Year Film
Director Writer Producer Notes
2018 Searching Yes Yes No Feature directorial debut
2020 Run[27] Yes Yes No
2023 Missing No Story Yes

Acting credits

[edit | edit source]

TV roles

[edit | edit source]
Year Title
Role Note
2018 Made in Hollywood Himself Season 13
  • Episode: 46

Film roles

[edit | edit source]
Year Title
Role Note
2010 The Liaison Himself Short film
2014 Google Glass: Seeds Traveller Short film
2024 i h8 ai Himself Short film

Awards and nominations

[edit | edit source]
Year Award Category Film Result
2018 Locarno Film Festival Variety Piazza Grande Award Searching Nominated
Sundance Film Festival Best of Next! Won
Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize
(shared with Sev Ohanian)		 Won
Sydney Film Festival Best Narrative Feature Nominated
Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society Awards Best First Feature Nominated

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ https://www.instagram.com/p/CwMN_qYLYrr/?img_index=3
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  16. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  17. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  18. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  19. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  20. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  21. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  22. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  23. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  24. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  25. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  26. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  27. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
[edit | edit source]

Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Retrieved from "http://70.231.62.181/index.php?title=Aneesh_Chaganty&oldid=17825863"