Veena Rao is a filmmaker based in New York City. She loves the ability of film to allow us to dream and empathize with each other and influence how we see the world. In her own work, she is interested in revealing the extraordinary in the everyday.
Her films have been showcased internationally at festivals such as AFI Docs, DOC NYC’s Short List, and Hamptons International Film Festival, and via The New York Times Op-Docs and Vimeo Staff Picks. They have also received support from organizations including Independent Television Service (ITVS), The NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre, and New York State Council on the Arts. She has performed at live storytelling events with Pop-Up Magazine across the U.S and Canada, including at Sundance Film Festival and Aspen Ideas Festival.
In addition to her independent films, she directs commissioned documentaries and branded films. Some past clients and collaborators include BBC, Google, New York Philharmonic, Starbucks, Vimeo, Vox Creative, and Tribeca Studios.
She is an alumna of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and a member of Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective, Brown Girls Doc Mafia, and New Day Films.