Biography

Rutuja Sawant is a New York City-based cinematographer and camera specialist born in Mumbai, India. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Film Production from University at Buffalo, graduating with honors. She is the recipient for Pierre McAloon Memorial award and SUNY's prestigious Chancellor Award Nominee among others.

Sawant is passionate about using her work for advocating for queer and South Asian representation in entertainment. With works such as Dead-Enders (2022) and Breaking House Rules (2022), she seeks to amplify voices that are marginalized and not represented in mainstream media drawing from her intersectional identities.

After working with GLAAD in 2019 and on the hit Showtime series Couples Therapy, Sawant has taken a specific interest in documentary work and capturing intimate emotional experiences. Most recently, Sawant worked on Bloomers (2022) as a camera specialist, working closely with the heads of production to share meaningful stories.

Outside of her on set work, Sawant takes an interest in giving films a platform through her work as a festival programmer for Madness Film Festival. This past year, she was a key part in making the festival happen and is looking forward to curating the 2023 films. Sawant just wrapped working on Lapse (2023) and is writing her next adventure.
- IMDb mini biography by: Rutuja Sawant