Community Organization Spotlight: In Conversation with Vineesha Arora-Sarin of WISE 🌟

by APASA External Community Chair Vandita Gorla

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to speak to Vineesha Arora-Sarin, the founder of Women in Showbiz Everywhere (WISE). Throughout our conversation, I learned about the history of WISE and the many projects that the organization has launched so far to support women in the entertainment industry. I also got to learn more about Vineesha’s journey in the industry herself, from her start as an actress to becoming a filmmaker.

WISE was founded in March of 2023, launching with a Pre-Oscars reception celebrating documentarians nominated for the Academy Awards. Vineesha explains that she was inspired to put on such an event after noticing how documentarians, especially those who are women, often receive less attention compared to other crew members, like actors and writers. Notable guests at this event included Oscars winners Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga. Their film “The Elephant Whisperers” won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short that year! After the success of this event, Arora-Sarin was motivated to continue building a network for women to make connections, find mentorship, and obtain support in their creative endeavors.

Vineesha Arora-Sarin and guests at WISE’s inaugural Pre-Oscars reception.

For women and the APIDA community specifically, Vineesha acknowledges that there is a long way to go in terms of representation in executive and higher-up roles in general. Therefore she hopes to bring more awareness to the needs of these communities and unite them in creating a safe space where female creators feel like they can thrive. Some of the projects that WISE has started so far include the Lady with a Film Showcase and the Brown and Brilliant podcast on iHeartRadio. They have held two showcases so far (both at USC!) featuring Q&As with directors Shruti Ganguly and Kiran Rao. Her podcast also includes interviews with actress Ramona Young and filmmaker Deepa Mehta, among other inspiring women. Additionally, WISE has launched the WISE-Ass and Sass Comedy Lab and EmpowHER Mentorship Program, which will start in the near future. She hopes to use these initiatives to uplift women of all backgrounds and increase representation in creative fields. 

Hosted by Vineesha, the “Brown and Brilliant Podcast– A WISE Initiative” premiered on February 20th on iHeartRadio.

2023 also saw the SAG-AFTRA strike, which started just a few months after WISE launched. In discussing the challenges that this may have presented, Vineesha noted how WISE’s programming was focused on smaller scale events that prioritized community during this time. Because they decided to stray away from larger studios and production houses, however, this presented challenges in obtaining corporate sponsorship that WISE could’ve used to gain more exposure. Even so, the strong celebrity turnout and media coverage of their events provided a promising start. 

After learning about WISE, I inquired with Vineesha about her own journey into the industry. Growing up in the US to a family that had no experience in entertainment, Vineesha found her calling after following her older sister to Mumbai shortly after graduating college. There, she attended an acting institute and immediately fell in love with film. Soon after starring in a Bollywood movie, she decided to step behind the camera and take a more active role in filmmaking itself. She began producing films through her own company Lady With a Hat Productions and experimenting with short films as well. 

In 2018, she moved to LA with her family. After the pandemic hit, she ventured into directing and created multiple short films shot on her iPhone. She first made “Come Back to Me,” which won several international awards, and soon after made “By God, There’ll Be Dancing!” which is a 2-minute comedic take on the pandemic. That same year in 2020, however, her husband’s ex-colleague and Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput had passed away. Reflecting on his death and mental health struggles, she wanted to make her next film on the theme of hope. Thus “Between Mountains” was born.

This film was shot spontaneously on a trip exploring various national parks which Vineesha took with her husband, actor Amit Sarin, and her son. The film is about a man who loses his family and goes on a road trip to commit suicide. Through having conversations with his dead wife and experiencing the metaphysical powers of nature, however, he begins to undergo a personal transformation. After taking two more road trips, the shoot was finally complete, and after two years Vineesha became the first woman in the world to direct a feature film completely shot on an iPhone. “Between Mountains” saw even more success than her previous shorts, winning awards at festivals like the Paris Film Awards, Austin International Art Festival, and more, and it is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

Vineesha’s 2022 feature film “Between Mountains” has received recognition at film festivals around the world and is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

Throughout the interview, Vineesha mentioned various anecdotes about her experience in Bollywood, projects she has planned for the future, and the process of creating “Between Mountains,” whether it be composing the music with Aram Avagyan, editing with Tigran Mutafyan, and receiving feedback from her idols in the industry. In creating her films, she follows her gut to produce art that is raw and a reflection of herself and her perceptions of the world at that point in time. It was inspiring to learn about Vineesha’s career and her approach to authentic filmmaking that emphasizes storytelling and emotion. We are very glad to have WISE as one of our community organizations for the year, and we look forward to seeing all that they accomplish in the future!

WISE’s second Lady with a Film Showcase featured a screening of Laapataa Ladies and Q&A with director Kiran Rao.

If you are interested in getting involved with WISE as an intern, volunteer, mentor, or member, check out their website at wiseonline.org. Also, make sure to check out Vineesha’s podcast Brown and Brilliant on iHeart Radio. If you have any specific questions and comments, feel free to email Vandita at vgorla@usc.edu!