Biography

Mathivanan Rajendran is an Indian producer, actor, and program director. A BAFTA Breakthrough Honoree and alumnus of the European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs (EAVE), Mathivanan has produced films that have screened at global festivals and addressed critical social issues.

His feature film Nasir (2020) competed for the Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), winning the FIPRESCI Grand Prix for Best Indian Film and the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film. It was showcased at festivals including MoMA's New Directors/New Films, the American Film Institute, and the Andrei Tarkovsky Zerkalo Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix. Other credits include Nirvana Inn (2019), a psychological drama supported by the Asian Cinema Fund, which premiered at the Busan International Film Festival.

His work focuses on gender, technology, and ecology. B.Selvi & Daughters, supported by GIZ, earned two Critics' Choice Award nominations for its focus on women's empowerment. Taak, exploring surveillance and patriarchy, premiered at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. Humans in the Loop, which tackles diversity in tech and AI, was recognized at MAMI and IFFK, receiving a Gender Sensitivity nomination.

In theater, Mathivanan founded and ran the Chennai-based Stray Factory, known for its devised and physical productions. The company later transitioned into digital storytelling with works like the web series Black Sheep.

As the Program Director of Storiculture's Media Accelerator, Mathivanan leads projects focused on ecology, responsible technology, and gender, supporting creators in producing work with measurable impact.

He is an alumnus of Virginia Tech.
- IMDb mini biography by: Natalie