Arising

(100 words)
Saraswathi Balgam (aka Vani) is currently developing unique original content after serving as the Head of Creative Management for DreamWorks Animation in Shanghai and as the Executive Director of Rhythm & Hues Asia (a multiple Academy Award-winning Animation and VFX studio). For 10 years, she was the president of ASIFA India and Women in Animation India. Her goal is to bridge the gap between Asian and North American storytellers and bring Asian stories to the world.

Vani is working on two independent feature films and has directed many award-winning short films. She loves her mother, her brother, and lives with her amazing husband in Los Angeles.

(250 words)
Vani has been associated with the animation industry in India since she was a little kid. Her father, a career banker, decided one day in the 1980s to quit his job and start an independent 2d-animation studio out of their house. In other words, Vani literally grew up in the animation industry, surrounded by creative and talented artists throughout her childhood.

Her father’s dream was to tap into India’s rich cultural heritage and create original animation properties for global audiences. He developed a treasure trove of characters and stories which he pitched to producers all around the world. However, his vision was ahead of its time. Today, Vani has taken inspiration from these early projects, and has extensively adapted and redeveloped them for current audiences.

Vani served as the Head of Creative Management for DreamWorks Animation in Shanghai, where she championed Chinese storyboard artists to tell authentic Chinese stories designed for global audiences. Vani was also the Executive Director of Rhythm & Hues India, a multiple Academy Award winning Animation and VFX studio. She started the studios in Asia, and managed the teams of artists and technicians that created the digital characters in “Life of Pi”, “Night at the Museum”, “The Golden Compass” “X-Men”, and “The Chronicles of Narnia”.