Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari is an Indian Filmmaker, Writer and Producer. A gold medallist in Applied Arts from Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai, she spent over a decade in the advertising world telling stories for the biggest brands in India and South East Asia. She won several advertising 'craft' awards across the world for her layered ideas and in depth understanding of human psychology at grassroot level. Her acclaimed movies, Short films and web series, Nil Battey Sannata, Amma Kanakku, Bareilly ki Barfi, Panga, Ghar ki Murgi, Break-Point, Ankahi (Anthology), web series Faadu has bought her high respect and appreciation for her craft in writing and direction. Her widely appreciated debut novel 'Mapping Love' was published in August 2021. Ashwiny started her career as a creative consultant for films like Chillar Party (2011) and Bhoothnath Returns (2014). After winning prestigious awards like the 'Dada Saheb Phalke Award for Best Short Film' (2013) and 'Special Jury Award for Best Director & Screenplay' (2013) for her short film titled 'What's for Breakfast', she made her foray into Bollywood as a director. Her first feature film, Chanda, une mère indienne (2015), later remade in Tamil as Amma Kanakku (2016) were highly acclaimed. 'Nil Battey Sannata' (2016) was loved by audience and critics alike and helped spread the message of education for all. It won several awards, nationally and internationally including awards such as 'Best Debut Director' at Filmfare Awards (2017) as well as 'Best Story' at Star Screen Awards (2017) for the same. The film was also screened at renowned international film festivals such as, London Film festival, Rome Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, Cleveland Film Festival, alongside others. Her next film, Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017), starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Kriti Sanon and Rajkummar Rao was a slice of life romantic comedy that won several popular and critically acclaimed awards including the 'Best Director' award at Filmfare Awards (2018) and Zee Cine Awards (2018) respectively. Her latest film, Panga (2020) starring Kangana Ranaut and Jassie Gill in the lead, was critically acclaimed. Panga (2020) and one of the last movies released in theatres before the Covid Pandemic hit. Panga was an important conversation starter around sports and motherhood. Ashwiny was chosen in BBC worldwide as an Indian Change makers in cinema for telling stories about woman in not-so-famous sports. With Her short film Ghar ki Murgi (Taken for Granted) Ashwiny represented India at the BRICS film festival, it also found a place at the Shangai International festival. Ashwiny was selected twice in 2020 and 2024 by Forbes Magazine as 'A self-made woman of India' Having built a repertoire for creating stories, she co-founded a storytelling company, Earthsky Pictures to write, direct & produce fiction, nonfiction, content with leading studio partners and nurture young talent. She is constantly developing stories that create a new landscape of storytelling with leading studio partners. In 2023 she produced Tarla - Life story of India's first home chef, Bus Karo Aunty - A film based on a young entrepreneur Varun Aggarwal and Bawaal - A slice of life romance film, also co-written by her. With her initiative 'Roots' she is documenting untold stories of Indian art and design. With her keen interest in art, textile, architecture and craft in all facets of design she explore, empowers young design entrepreneurs and documents cultural ethnography of places and people. In the long run she has an objective to add value to artists by creating an ecosystem of conversation that can enhance their creative process. Making her own path with her simple, mindful outlook. She is a conscious knowledge traveller, design researcher and seeker for life.