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Gita Pullapilly | |
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| Born | South Bend, Indiana, U.S. |
| Citizenship | American |
| Education | B.B.A. (Finance) M.A. (Journalism) |
| Alma mater | University of Notre Dame Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University |
| Occupations | Screenwriter film producer film and TV director television journalist news anchor author |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Era | 21st Century |
| Employer | Entrepreneur |
| Organization(s) | Team A + G Productions, Inc. |
| Known for | The Way We Get By Beneath the Harvest Sky Queenpins Crook County Tulsa King |
| Notable work | Crook County Beneath the Harvest Sky The Way We Get By Queenpins Inspiration To Get You Through A F*cked Up Year |
| Television | Frontline/World P.O.V. Lifecasters Little America Tulsa King |
| Title | Filmmaker |
| Spouse | Aron Gaudet |
| Parents |
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| Relatives | Kavita Pullapilly (sister) Anand Pullapilly (brother) Joan Gaudet (mother-in-law) |
| Awards | Fulbright Scholarship WGBH Filmmaker-in-Residence Variety magazine's "10 Directors To Watch" with filmmaker, Aron Gaudet, for 2014 2015 Black List Screenwriter with Aron Gaudet Euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers Live the Dream Grant at the Gotham Awards Independent Magazine's "Filmmakers to Watch" With Aron Gaudet, jointly appointed Guggenheim Fellows Rev. Anthony J. Lauck Award by the University of Notre Dame 2019 Presidential Leadership Scholar |
Gita Pullapilly is an American Hollywood film and television director, screenwriter, producer, and author. She produces, writes and directs with her husband and film partner, Aron Gaudet under their banner, "Team A + G Productions, Inc."
Pullapilly was born in South Bend, Indiana and has family in Kerala and Belgaum, India. [1] [2] [3] During her childhood, she frequently traveled with her father as part of an educational program, called Semester Around the World, which helped her to understand political and historical events, and learned to write stories as a journalist and filmmaker. [1] [2] [4] [5] Pullapilly studied off and on in India and in the United States. [6]
Pullapilly studied finance at University of Notre Dame, receiving her B.B.A. and received her M.A. in journalism at the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University. [7] She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2005. [8] She was chosen as the first filmmaker to become a Fulbright Senior Scholar to Jordan. Pullapilly is a Presidential Leadership Scholar, Class of 2019, [9] and has met with four US Presidents, President George W. Bush, President Joe Biden, President Bill Clinton, and President Obama. [10] [11] [12] [13]
Pullapilly co-writes and directs with her husband, Aron Gaudet since 2004. [14] They are known for their documentaries, comedies, thrillers, and dramas. [15] In 2007, Pullapilly was selected as a WGBH Filmmaker-in-Residence where she edited the Emmy-nominated feature documentary, The Way We Get By . with her partner, Aron Gaudet for PBS' POV. [16]
Pullapilly met and worked with Aron Gaudet on The Way We Get By . [17] [18] The Way We Get By was nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy Awards in 2010. [19] The Way We Get By was awarded "Best Documentary" in the AARP's "Movies For Grownups" Awards of 2009. [20] The film had its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival, (SXSW), won 18 festival awards around the world, played theatrically in over 60 cities across the U.S. and aired on the critically acclaimed, independent television series P.O.V. on PBS as a prime time special. That year, she was selected as one of Independent Magazine's "Filmmakers to Watch." [9] [4] It was released in US cinemas in July 2009 and has twice been aired by PBS television, in 2009 and 2010. [21] Gaudet and Pullapilly were invited to the White House in 2009 with the three subjects of the film, Joan Gaudet, Bill Knight, and Jerry Mundy. [22]
In 2012, Pullapilly was one of the creators and executive producers on the national United States PBS program, Lifecasters, which had its world premiere at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Pullapilly has received a number of grants for her projects including from ITVS, CPB, POV, MacArthur Foundation, and Fledgling Fund. [4] [23]
Pullapilly and Gaudet wrote, produced and directed a film entitled Beneath The Harvest Sky (formerly called Blue Potato), which was also produced with her sister, Kavita Pullapilly. [24] The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival [7] and was acquired by Tribeca Films. [25]
Pullapilly was selected as one of Variety's "10 Directors To Watch" with filmmaker, Aron Gaudet, for 2014 [26] and won the "Euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers Live the Dream Grant" at the Gotham Awards. [27]
In 2015, Pullapilly and her writing partner, Aron Gaudet were jointly appointed Guggenheim Fellows to support their current movie project, titled Crook County. [28] In December 2015, Pullapilly and Aron Gaudet were recognized on the 2015 Black List for having one of the best unproduced screenplays of that year for "Crook County". [29]
In January 2016, the University of Notre Dame Alumni Board awarded Pullapilly the Rev. Anthony J. Lauck Award, which is given to a graduate for outstanding accomplishments or achievements as a practicing artist. [30]
In 2018, Pullapilly and her film partner, Aron Gaudet, were mentees in the Half Initiative, shadowing on the FX television series, American Horror Story. Ryan Murphy launched Half aiming to make Hollywood more inclusive by creating equal opportunities for women and minorities behind the camera. [31]
In 2019, Pullapilly and Gaudet launched the India- US Film Initiative. The goal is to bring Hollywood and Indian filmmakers together to share best practices, ways to increase opportunities for talented storytellers, and innovative techniques for quality filmmaking. [6]
Pullapilly and Gaudet are known for their innovative "servant leadership" model in their directing that has garnered positive media attention and exposure. Their innovative model and leadership techniques are being adapted for film and television productions around the world.
In 2020, Pullapilly and Gaudet directed their feature comedy, Queenpins, starring Kristen Bell, Kirby Howell Baptiste, Vince Vaughn, and Paul Walter Hauser. [32] Queenpins was one of the most profitable, feature comedies in the last decade, selling the domestic rights to Paramount+ for over $20 million. [33] [34]
In 2022, they directed their film, "David Armstrong," that 101 Studios produced starring Jeremy Renner and Billy Bob Thornton. [35] In 2022, Pullapilly and Gaudet wrote their first book, "Inspiration To Get You Through a F*cked Up Year." [36]
In 2023, Pullapilly and Gaudet directed an episode of Little America for Apple TV, and in 2025, they directed two episodes of Season 4 of Tulsa King starring Sylvester Stallone for 101 Studios and Paramount+. [37]
Pullapilly and Gaudet are the directors of the 2026 upcoming action-revenge thriller Wild World, starring Isabel May. [38] [39]
Pullapilly is a notable speaker on the film industry and has spoken at numerous events, including Film Independent, The Gotham Film & Media Institute, the Toronto International Film Festival, SXSW, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and Tribeca. [40] [41] She and Gaudet have been interviewed by major news outlets including the New York Times, Boston Globe, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, CNN, NBC, The Hollywood Reporter, ABC, Variety, CBS and Forbes. [16] [17] [42] [43] [44] [45] [4] [46] [47]
In 2004, Pullapilly met and worked with Aron Gaudet on their documentary, The Way We Get By , for five years prior to marrying him in 2009. [17] Their wedding was profiled in the New York Times . [17]
Pullapily spent significant time as a child with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India with her family. When Mother Teresa died in 1997, Pullapilly wrote a tribute about the lessons she learned from the saint. [48] She credits Mother Teresa for encouraging her to trust her intuition. Mother Teresa told her, "It's all in your heart. You'll know all the answers to life because it's all in your heart. But you have to be open to receiving it." [4] Her father, Cyriac Pullapilly was the author of a book on the Italian cardinal and ecclesiastical historian Caesar Baronius, a copy of which he presented to Pope John Paul II, as well as The New Testament of the Inclusive Language Bible, a gender-inclusive translation reflecting contemporary linguistic usage. [1]
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