Shanti Thakur
School Director
Shanti Thakur
School Director
Education
BA, Ottawa University (Ottawa, Canada); BA, Concordia University (Montreal, Canada); MFA, Temple University
Bio
Shanti Thakur, Professor and Director of RIT’s School of Film and Animation, is an award-winning filmmaker, recognized for visually lush fiction and documentary films that span a landscape of subjects from science fiction to restorative justice. Her poetic eye explores the essence of humanity, and how we perceive each other through the lens of history, memory and identity.
Her most recent feature-length documentary, Terrible Children, shares the discovered story of her Indian father, who was banished for marrying her Danish mother, via a letter that had remained unopened for 20 years.
A native of Montreal, Thakur’s films have screened at more than 200 film festivals and museums, including the Cannes Film Festival, The Museum of Modern Art and the Montreal World Film Festival, garnering 26 awards. Her films have been broadcast in 23 countries, on the Sundance Channel and Independent Lens, and are currently available on Amazon Prime, IndieFlix, Women Make Movies and the National Film Board of Canada. She writes, directs and produces through her company Lucida Films, LLC., and directed for the National Film Board of Canada.
Currently Teaching
In the News
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August 15, 2024
![two students stand in front of a small screen reviewing footage in the MAGIC Center Color Correction Suite on campus.]()
RIT’s School of Film and Animation ranked among the top 25 American film schools
RIT’s School of Film and Animation (SOFA) has earned a spot on The Hollywood Reporter’s top film schools list. Ranking at number 25, this is the first time RIT has been included in The Hollywood Reporter’s rankings.
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March 1, 2024
![Students from the 2023 Study Away LA cohort look out over the city of Los Angeles from a balcony at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures]()
Students find success and connections by spending a semester in Los Angeles
Now in its second academic year, Study Away: LA offers third-year film and animation students immersive and hands-on experiences in the film industry.
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January 31, 2024
![a student in a green shirt sketching on a large pad of paper that is sitting on an easel.]()
RIT’s School of Film and Animation ranked No. 16 nationally
RIT’s School of Film and Animation (SOFA) has been ranked among the top 50 animation schools in the country by Animation Career Review, a leading online resource of information for aspiring animation and game design professionals.
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July 18, 2023
Thakur’s film ‘Terrible Children’ earns accolades