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Aneesh Chaganty

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Aneesh Chaganty
Chaganty in 2018
Born(1991-01-30)January 30, 1991(age 33)
EducationUniversity of Southern California
Occupations
Years active2011–present

Aneesh Chaganty(/əˈnʃˈɑːɡənti/;[1]Telugu pronunciation:[əniːʂtʃɑːɡəɳʈi]born January 30, 1991) is an American film director and screenwriter. He made his feature film directorial debut with the 2018 thrillerSearching,for which he won theAlfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prizeat the2018 Sundance Film Festival.[2]

Early life and background

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Aneesh Chaganty was born inRedmond, Washington,[3]and grew up inSan Jose, California.[4]His parents, originally fromAndhra Pradesh,India,moved to the U.S. in the 1980s.[4]His father, who obtained anMS degreeincomputer engineeringfromDrexel University,serves as a director andChief Technology Officerat a software publishing, consultancy and supply company[5]founded by both his parents, AppEnsure Inc.[6]

Chaganty attendedValley Christian High Schoolfrom 2005 to 2009.[7]He graduated fromUSC School of Cinematic Artsin 2013 with a degree in film and television production.[8]

Film career

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In 2014, Chaganty's two minute short film, aGoogle Glassspot calledSeeds,became an internet sensation after garnering more than 1 millionYouTubeviews in 24 hours.[9]Following its success, Chaganty was invited to join the Google 5 team atGoogleCreative Lab in New York City, where he spent two years developing, writing and directing Googlecommercials.[3]

After working on over 25 short films and videos, Chaganty directed his first feature film,Searching,which was originally pitched as ashort filmbut was offered a production budget for a feature instead,[3]was released on August 24, 2018 before opening wide on August 31,[10]also premiering at theSundance Film Festivalon January 21, 2018.[11]

Chaganty's second filmRun,a thriller starringSarah PaulsonandKiera Allen,was set to be released on January 24, 2020,[12]then May 8, 2020,[13]but was pushed back because of theCOVID-19 pandemic,and was released onHuluon November 20, 2020,[14]and internationally byNetflixon April 2, 2021.[15]

Filmography

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Short films

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Year Film
Director Writer Notes
2007 Nug Yes Yes Alsofilm editorandproducer
2008 The Sound of Evanescence Yes Yes Also film editor
2009 Starving! Yes Yes Also film editor
2011 Alibi Yes Yes
2012 Monsters Yes Yes Also film editor
Microeconomics Yes No
Adventure, Wisconsin Yes Yes Alsosound editorand producer
2014 Seeds Yes Yes SponsoredbyGoogle Glass

Feature films

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Year Film
Director Writer Producer Notes
2018 Searching Yes Yes No Feature directorial debut
2020 Run[16] Yes Yes No
2023 Missing No Story Yes

Acting credits

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TV roles

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Year Title
Role Note
2018 Made in Hollywood Himself Season 13
  • Episode: 46

Film roles

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Year Title
Role Note
2010 The Liaison Himself Short film
2014 Google Glass: Seeds Traveller Short film

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Film Result
2018 Locarno Film Festival Variety Piazza Grande Award Searching Nominated
Sundance Film Festival Best of Next! Won
Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize
(shared withSev Ohanian)
Won
Sydney Film Festival Best Narrative Feature Nominated

References

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  1. ^"'Run' | Anatomy of a Scene ".The New York Times.November 20, 2020.RetrievedJuly 27,2022.
  2. ^Pedersen, Erik (January 23, 2018)."'Search' Wins Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Film Prize – Sundance ".Deadline Hollywood.Penske Business Media.RetrievedSeptember 9,2018.
  3. ^abc"Career Lessons From A Creative Who Left A 'Dream' Job For His Dream Career".Forbes.RetrievedSeptember 9,2018.
  4. ^ab"Aneesh Chaganty's Mother's Day message is the new viral sensation".The Times of India.Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.RetrievedSeptember 9,2018.
  5. ^"Sri Chaganty: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg".Bloomberg.RetrievedSeptember 12,2018.
  6. ^Zack, Jessica (August 16, 2018)."'Google Five' filmmaker Aneesh Chaganty gets smart with thriller 'Searching'".San Francisco Chronicle.Hearst Communications.RetrievedSeptember 12,2018.
  7. ^"Compelling Movie Thriller Directed & Co-Written by 2009 Alumnus Aneesh Chaganty".AMSE.April 9, 2018.Archivedfrom the original on September 12, 2018.RetrievedSeptember 12,2018.
  8. ^"SCA Alumni create viral video," SEEDS "".USC School of Cinematic Arts.July 3, 2014.RetrievedSeptember 12,2018.
  9. ^"Google Glass short film 'Seeds' hits the spot for Mother's Day".Tech Times.11 May 2014.RetrievedSeptember 9,2018.
  10. ^D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 16, 2018)."Screen Gems Adds John Cho-Debra Messing Thriller 'Searching' To August Schedule".Deadline Hollywood.Penske Business Media.RetrievedSeptember 9,2018.
  11. ^"2018 Sundance Film Festival: Feature Films Announced".Sundance Film Festival.The Sundance Institute.November 29, 2017. Archived fromthe originalon December 22, 2017.RetrievedSeptember 9,2018.
  12. ^Vlessing, Etan (January 31, 2019)."Lionsgate Suspense Thriller 'Run' Sets 2020 Release Date".The Hollywood Reporter.RetrievedJanuary 31,2019.
  13. ^Couch, Aaron (January 17, 2020)."Lionsgate Thriller 'Run' Release Date Pushed Back 4 Months".The Hollywood Reporter.RetrievedFebruary 21,2020.
  14. ^"Aneesh Chaganty's Thriller 'Run' Starring Sarah Paulson Lands Release Date at Hulu".22 September 2020.
  15. ^"Sarah Paulson, Kiera Allen's thriller Run, directed by Searching helmer Aneesh Chaganty, to stream on Netflix India from 2 April".First Post.March 20, 2021.RetrievedApril 2,2021.
  16. ^McNary, Dave (June 7, 2018)."Lionsgate to Develop Thriller 'Run' From 'Searching' Filmmakers (EXCLUSIVE)".Variety.Penske Business Media.RetrievedSeptember 15,2018.
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