Writer, director and producer Manjari Makijany's debut feature 'Skater Girl', a Netflix original, is a coming of age sports-drama and India's first skateboarding feature. The film follows a teen in rural India who challenges the status quo and fights against all odds to follow her dreams of becoming a skater and competing in the national championship. Her second feature 'Spin' is a live-action narrative for Disney that follows Rhea, a relatable Indian American teen whose journey of self-discovery empowers her to find her true passion of creating music infused with her South Asian culture. Makijany comes from a film family of actors and filmmakers in Mumbai and set her mind on directing at an early age. Her journey as a director took off with her critically acclaimed short film 'The Last Marble,' which won Best of Fest at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. She followed that success with the short films 'The Corner Table' and 'I See You,' which won Best Short at the Asian American International Film Festival and was showcased in Cannes at the Emerging Filmmakers Showcase. She went on to become one of eight directors selected for the prestigious American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women and the second Indian woman to be part of the program since its inception in 1974. She was consequently selected to participate in the 'Universal Pictures Directors Intensive' and the 'Fox Filmmakers Lab'. Makijany's vision for storytelling and her diverse film experience, both in India and America, has served as a fertile ground to craft her unique voice as a filmmaker. She heads a boutique production company in Los Angeles, California, Skatepark Films, with her husband and producing partner, Emmanuel Pappas.