Manjari is an Emmy Nominated, Indian born Writer-Director-Producer based between Sydney and Los Angeles, known for telling bold, cross-cultural stories that resonate globally. Her debut feature was SKATER GIRL (2021), that follows a teenage girl in rural India who discovers freedom through skateboarding. The film was acquired by Netflix and released in 191 countries and 31 languages. As part of the production, Manjari championed the creation of Rajasthan’s first—and one of India’s largest skateparks, which is now a free community space for youth empowerment through art and sport.

Her second feature, SPIN (2021), a Disney movie, starred Abhay Deol and Avantika as Rhea, an Indian-American teen who comes of age by discovering her passion for music production and DJ’ing. The film was nominated for two Children’s & Family Emmy Awards: Outstanding Fiction Special and Outstanding Directing in a Single-Camera Program.

Born into a family of actors and filmmakers in Mumbai, Manjari set her sights on directing early on. She began her filmmaking journey with THE LAST MARBLE (2012), which was selected for the Best of Fest at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. She followed with THE CORNER TABLE (2013) and I SEE YOU (2017), a dramatic thriller about a suicide bomber who has a change of heart on the New York City Subway. The film was showcased to the industry at the Director Guild of America where she was awarded the Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation Award and the Adrienne Shelly Foundation Award. It also won Best Short at the Asian American International Film Festival and was showcased in Cannes at the Emerging Filmmakers Showcase.

She was one of eight directors selected for the prestigious American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women (AFI DWW) Program and the second Indian woman to be part of that program since its inception in 1974. She was in the Universal Pictures Directors Intensive and the Fox Filmmakers Lab and is a Disney CTDI alum. Manjari was also selected to participate in the Commercial Directors Diversity Program (CDDP). She is a member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and Directors Guild of America (DGA).

Prior to AFI she did the UCLA’s Professional Program in Screenwriting, where one of her feature scripts, CITY OF GOLD, was nominated for the Nate Wilson Award in 2015.

She’s had the opportunity to work for incredible filmmakers like Christopher Nolan on DUNKIRK & THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, Patty Jenkins on WONDER WOMAN as well as A-list Indian filmmakers like Vishal Bhardwaj on SAAT KHOON MAAF starring Priyanka Chopra. Her credits as an Assistant Director include THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE-4 and Bollywood features like WAKE UP SID and GANDHI OF THE MONTH starring Harvey Keitel.

Together with her husband and producing partner Emmanuel Pappas, Manjari co-founded Skatepark Films, a Los Angeles-based boutique production company committed to socially conscious, globally appealing storytelling. Their latest venture, Asia Pacific Pictures, based in Sydney and Los Angeles, expands this vision by championing bold, original voices and fostering cross-cultural co-productions across Australia, India, and the broader Asia Pacific region.

With her unique perspective shaped by her experience in both Indian and American cinema, Manjari continues to develop feature films, television series, and documentaries that inspire, empower, and transcend borders.