Jacintha Charles is a Singaporean Indian filmmaker and actress based in San Francisco, California. She began her career as an actress in Singapore before relocating to the United States, where she shifted behind the camera and found her voice as a storyteller.
Drawing from her lived experiences growing up in Singapore, Jacintha’s work centers on intimate, character-driven stories that challenge stereotypes and reclaim narratives often dismissed or misunderstood. Her films foreground people whose strength, agency, and complexity are frequently overlooked, particularly within marginalized communities.
Her work has been supported by the Singapore Film Commission and screened at international festivals including Vail, BronzeLens (Oscar-qualifying), Crested Butte, NewFilmmakers LA, Julien Dubuque, Cinefantasy, and Phoenix International Film Festival.
Her breakout short film, Madhavi, explores the aftermath of domestic violence within the South Asian community. The film received Best Short Film at the UK Asian Film Festival, Best Short Drama at the Oregon Short Film Festival, and Best Social Impact / Social Justice Short at the Phoenix Shorts Film Festival. The screenplay also placed in major competitions including the Final Draft Fellowship, PAGE International Screenwriting Awards, and Atlanta Film Festival. Jacintha is an alumna of Stowe Story Labs, where the project was further developed as a feature.
She has also completed the feature screenplay, SINGAPURA, a coming of age story inspired by the 1964 Racial Riots in Singapore.
Her current short screenplay, The Night Shift—a semi-autobiographical story centered on a fractured father-daughter relationship, has placed in the Scream List, Vail Screenplay Competition, and the Outstanding Shorts Screenplay Competition (2026).
Jacintha is a member of the Alliance of Women Directors, Women in Film, Film Independent, San Francisco Film Society, and SAG-AFTRA.
