Gita Pullapilly

Last updated

Gita Pullapilly
Born
South Bend, Indiana, U.S.
NationalityIndian-American
CitizenshipAmerican
EducationB.B.A. (Finance)
M.A. (Journalism)
Alma mater University of Notre Dame
Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University
Occupation(s)Screenwriter
film producer
director
television journalist
Years active2007–present
Era21st Century
EmployerEntrepreneur
Organization(s)Team A + G, Inc.
Known forThe Way We Get By
Beneath the Harvest Sky
Queenpins
Notable workCrook County
Beneath the Harvest Sky
The Way We Get By
Queenpins
Inspiration To Get You Through A F*cked Up Year
TelevisionFrontline/World
P.O.V.
Lifecasters
TitleFilmmaker
Spouse Aron Gaudet
Parents
RelativesKavita Pullapilly (sister)
Anand Pullapilly (brother)
Joan Gaudet (mother-in-law)
AwardsFulbright Scholarship
Variety magazine's "10 Directors To Watch" with filmmaker, Aron Gaudet, for 2014
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 a Hollywood film and television director, screenwriter, producer, and author. She writes and directs with her husband and film partner, Aron Gaudet under their banner, "Team A + G, Inc."

Contents

Life and career

Gita Pullapilly co-writes and directs with her husband, Aron Gaudet. Together, they work on comedies and dramas. [1]

Gita Pullapilly was born in South Bend, Indiana. She 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. [2] She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2005. [3] She was chosen as the first filmmaker to become a Fulbright Senior Scholar to Jordan. Pullapilly is a Presidential Leadership Scholar. [4] She has family in Kerala and Belgaum, India.

In 2007, Pullapilly was selected as a WGBH Filmmaker-in-Residence. [4]

Pullapilly met and worked with Aron Gaudet on their documentary, The Way We Get By , for five years prior to marrying him in 2009. Their wedding was profiled in the New York Times . [5]

The Way We Get By was awarded "Best Documentary" in the AARP's "Movies For Grownups" Awards of 2009. [6] 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." [4] [7] It was released in US cinemas in July 2009 and has twice been aired by PBS television, in 2009 and 2010. [8] 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. [9] The Way We Get By was nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy Awards in 2010. [10]

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. [7] [11]

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. [12] The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival [2] and was acquired by Tribeca Films. [13]

Pullapilly was selected as one of Variety's "10 Directors To Watch" with filmmaker, Aron Gaudet, for 2014 [14] and won the "Euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers Live the Dream Grant" at the Gotham Awards. [15]

In 2015, Pullapilly and her writing partner, Aron Gaudet were jointly appointed Guggenheim Fellows to support their current movie project, titled Crook County. [16] 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". [17]

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. [18]

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. [19]

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. [20]

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. [21] In 2022, they directed their film, "David Armstrong," that 101 Studios produced starring Jeremy Renner and Billy Bob Thornton. [22] In 2022, Pullapilly and Gaudet wrote their first book, "Inspiration To Get You Through a F*cked Up Year."

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ITVS</span>

ITVS is a service in the United States which funds and presents documentaries on public television through distribution by PBS and American Public Television, new media projects on the Internet, and the weekly series Independent Lens on PBS. Aside from Independent Lens, ITVS funded and produced films for more than 40 television hours per year on the PBS series POV, Frontline, American Masters and American Experience. Some ITVS programs are produced along with organizations like Latino Public Broadcasting and KQED.

<i>The Way We Get By</i> 2009 American film

The Way We Get By is a 2009 Emmy-nominated documentary film directed by Aron Gaudet and produced by Gita Pullapilly, about a group of senior citizens in Bangor, Maine who greet U.S. troops at the Bangor International Airport. The Way We Get By had its world premiere at the 2009 South by Southwest Film Festival, winning the Special Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film also won the Audience Award at the 2009 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the Standing Up Film Competition at the Cleveland International Film Festival, and the Best Documentary at the Atlanta, Little Rock, Naples, Phoenix, and Newport International Film Festivals. The film received a 2010 Cinema Eye nomination for Debut Feature Film.

Cynthia Wade is an American television, commercial and film director, producer and cinematographer based in New York City. She has directed documentaries on social issues including Shelter Dogs in 2003 about animal welfare and Freeheld in 2007 about LGBT rights as well as television commercials and web campaigns. She has won over 40 film festival awards, won an Oscar in 2008, and was nominated for her second Oscar in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy Schwartzman</span> American filmmaker

Nancy Schwartzman is an American documentary filmmaker, human rights activist, member of the Directors Guild of America, and The Academy.

<i>Where Soldiers Come From</i> 2011 American film

Where Soldiers Come From is a 2011 American documentary film directed by Heather Courtney. The film is an intimate look at a group of young American men who join the Michigan Army National Guard, their families, and the town they come from. Director Heather Courtney follows these young men closely, as they transition from small town teenagers to Army guardsmen during the war in Afghanistan. Their story continues to follow the 23-year-old veterans dealing with the less visible wounds of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and PTSD. It premiered at South by Southwest festival, where it won the best documentary editing award. In 2012, the film won a News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story, as well as the Truer Than Fiction Independent Spirit Award.

Cyriac K. Pullapilly was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a former priest of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and a professor of history at Saint Mary's College, Indiana.

<i>The World Before Her</i> 2012 Canadian film

The World Before Her is a 2012 Canadian documentary film written and directed by Nisha Pahuja and produced by Toronto's Emmy Award winning Storyline Entertainment. The film explores the complex and conflicting environment for young girls in India by profiling two young women participating in two very different types of training camp — Ruhi Singh, who aspires to become Miss India, and Prachi Trivedi, a Hindu nationalist with the Durga Vahini.

<i>Beneath the Harvest Sky</i> 2013 American film

Beneath the Harvest Sky is a 2013 indie American drama film directed by Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly. The film stars Emory Cohen, Callan McAuliffe, Sarah Sutherland, Timothy Simons, W. Earl Brown and Aidan Gillen. Beneath the Harvest Sky is about two teenage best friends in rural Maine caught up in the illegal prescription drug trade between Canada and Maine. It is a story about friendship, family and love. The film highlights social issues in rural communities and the lack of opportunities and resources for youth.

<i>Best Kept Secret</i> (film) 2013 American film

Best Kept Secret is a 2013 American documentary film directed by Samantha Buck and produced by Danielle DiGiacomo. The film aired as part of POV on PBS and focuses on a special education teacher who must find her students a place in the real world as they prepare to leave the public school system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heather Croall</span>

Heather Ann Croall is an international arts festival CEO and artistic director and documentary producer, best known for leading Sheffield Doc/Fest and Adelaide Fringe, and her work on live music / archive films including The Big Melt, From the Sea to the Land Beyond, Girt By Sea, From Scotland With Love, Atomic, Living in Dread and Promise

Bernardo Ruiz is a Mexican and American documentary filmmaker. He directed and produced the documentary Reportero about attacks on the press in Mexico. He is the founder of Quiet Pictures.

Marion Lipschutz is an American documentary producer, writer, and director. Lipschutz has directed and produced award-winning documentaries, including BEI BEI, The Education of Shelby Knox and Young Lakota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Edwards</span> Canadian-American filmmaker

Jessica Edwards is a Canadian-American filmmaker known for her documentary Mavis! about musician and civil rights figure Mavis Staples.

Dr. Dai Sil Kim-Gibson (/'daɪ/ /'sɪl/ /'kɪm/-/'gɪbsən/; was a Korean–American documentary filmmaker and author. Her films and writing focus on humanizing "the voiceless" within issues of human rights, overlooked periods in history, and Asian-American diaspora.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Reichert</span> American filmmaker and activist (1946–2022)

Julia Bell Reichert was an American Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, activist, and feminist. She was a co-founder of New Day Films. Reichert's filmmaking career spanned over 50 years as a director and producer of documentaries.

<i>Roll Red Roll</i> 2018 American film

Roll Red Roll is a 2018 American documentary film, directed and produced by Nancy Schwartzman. It follows the Steubenville High School rape case.

<i>93Queen</i> 2018 American film

93Queen is a 2018 documentary film on Hasidic women in Borough Park, Brooklyn who form Ezras Nashim, an all-female ambulance corps. The film follows Judge Rachel Freier, a Hasidic lawyer running for public office as a New York Judge, and mother of six who is determined to shake up the “boys club” in her Hasidic community by creating the first all-female ambulance corps in the United States, as she negotiates her community initiative within the context of a male-dominated Hasidic community.

Aron Gaudet is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. He is best known for The Way We Get By (2009), Beneath the Harvest Sky (2013), and Queenpins (2021). He writes and directs with his wife and film partner, Gita Pullapilly, under their banner, "Team A + G, Inc."

<i>Queenpins</i> 2021 American film

Queenpins is a 2021 American comedy film written and directed by Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly. It stars Kristen Bell, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Paul Walter Hauser, Bebe Rexha, and Vince Vaughn. Ben Stiller serves as an executive producer under his Red Hour Productions banner.

Katy Gale Chevigny is an American documentary filmmaker. She has produced or directed more than 30 documentary films and won a number of awards for her work.

References

  1. ↑ "Leslie Jones-Kristen Bell Coupon Caper 'Queenpins' Lands with Rocket Science — Cannes". May 9, 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Beneath The Harvest Sky". Toronto International Film Festival. August 23, 2013. Archived from the original on September 3, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Journalism". Cies.org. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "Gita Pullapilly". IMDB.com. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Gita Pullapilly and Aron Gaudet". New York Times. November 1, 2009. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Awards Roundup: February 16–21, 2010 | International Documentary Association". Documentary.org. February 20, 2010. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Gita Pullapilly". Chicago Tribune. June 23, 2015. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  8. ↑ Aron Gaudet (August 3, 2010). "The Way We Get By | POV". PBS. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Vice president lauds BIA troop greeters". Bangordailynews.com. October 4, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Archived copy". emmyonline.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ↑ "Gita Pullapilly". IMDB.com. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  12. ↑ Harrell, Jeff (March 1, 2013). "Pullapilly joins sister for blue-chip film". South Bend Tribune.
  13. ↑ "Tribeca Films Acquires 'Beneath the Harvest Sky'". Variety. December 9, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Variety's 10 Directors to Watch – 2013". Variety. December 2, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  15. ↑ Setoodeh, Ramin (December 2, 2013). "With More Stars, Gotham Awards Stay True to Indie Roots". Variety. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  16. ↑ McNary, Dave (April 9, 2015). "'Beneath the Harvest Sky' Directors Tapped as Guggenheim Fellows". Variety. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  17. ↑ comingsoon.net https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/640953-the-2015-black-list-of-unproduced-screenplays . Retrieved February 27, 2014.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ↑ . The University of Notre Dame http://mendoza.nd.edu/why-mendoza/news-and-events/news/63746-filmmaker-gita-pullapilly-fin-99-wins-university-award/ . Retrieved February 27, 2014.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. ↑ "2018 Half Initiative Mentees". Half Initiative. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Gita Pullapilly and Aron Gaudet and India – US Film Summit". My New York Eye. October 23, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Gita Pullapilly and Aron Gaudet and Queenpins". Deadline. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Gita Pullapilly and Aron Gaudet and "Untitled Sackler Project"". Deadline. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.