Neelu is a passionate and playful creative who believes design and film can transform society. Since 2010, they have been contributing their Graphic, UX/UI design and web dev skills to a range of projects. Alongside this work, Neelu makes films with their San Francisco based studio Moving Dreams Studios LLC, and is currently working on their second feature length project on India’s first transman pilot.
A sci-fi omnibus feature film composed of seven standalone short stories where supernatural trans and queer people from various cultures use their powers to protect, love, teach, fight and thrive.
CHIRAKU showcases 18-year-old Adam Harry’s turbulent and triumphant journey to become India’s first trans commercial pilot.
CLIENTS
San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Institute (SPUR) | Web Design and Development, Remote, 2011 - Present
Brent Museum | Large Scale Graphic Design for Grunwick 40 exhibition, 2016, London, UK
Better World Advertising | Web Designer, 2010-2011, San Francisco
COUNTERPULSE | Graphic Designer, 2010-2013, San Francisco
ZERO1 | Web Designer, 2013-2016, San Jose
Inneract Project | Web Designer & Developer, 2010-2011, San Francisco
Square Tomato | Web & Graphic Designer, 2010-2011, Seattle
KCTS9 | Web & Graphic Designer, 2009, Seattle
Dumb Eyes | Web Designer, 2010, Seattle
Bankers Without Borders | Web Designer, 2009-2010, Washington DC, Remote
Tasveer | Web & Graphic Designer, 2006-2010, Seattle
Smilebox Inc | QA Software Tester, 2005-2009, Seattle, Part Time
Motorola Inc. | Software Engineer, 1999-2004, Champaign, IL
RECOGNITION
2024-2025 Sheffield DocFest Queer Realities Directors Lab Fellow
2024 IDA Logan Elevate Grant Nominee
CHIRAKU (Work-In-Progress) : 2023-2024 Firelight Media Doc Lab Fellow
2024 Sundance 2024 Trans Possibilities Intensive Nominee
2022 Tasveer Film Fund Pitch Winner (Netflix Backed)
2023 Doc Society CPH: DOX Queer Now Lab Participant
2023 Sundance 2024 Trans Possibilities Intensive Nominee
2022 Sundance Uprise Grant Nominee
TRANSFINITE (2019) : Grant Winner of 2019 Trans Justice Funding Project
TRANSFINITE (2019) : Opening night feature at the world’s oldest and most recognised 2019 San Francisco Transgender International Film Festival
TRANSFINITE (2019) : Audience Award at 2019 TranScreen Amsterdam
TRANSFINITE (2019) : Austin’s 2019 aGLIFF Critic’s Pick
TRANSFINITE (2019) : 2019 Kochi-Muziris Biennale - Artist Film Strand
FU377 (2014) : BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM - Jury Award by 2014 Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series, Brooklyn, New York, USA
FU377 (2014) : BEST ANIMATION - Jury Award by 2014 Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival, New Delhi, India
FU377 (2014) : BEST SHORT, 2014 Kolkata Shorts International Film Festival, India
Served on juries for 2019 Boston Wicked Queer International Film Festival, 2020 MIX Copenhagen, 2022 Seattle International Translations Film Festival
SKILLS
Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, Drupal CMS, CSS, HTML, Leadership, Visual storytelling, Excellent communication and cross cultural interpersonal skills, Time and organisational management, Thrive in managing chaotic productions.
EDUCATION
Google UX Design Professional Certificate
2024 • Coursera
AA in Interactive Media Design
2010 • The Art Institute of Seattle • Seattle, WA, USA • 07-10 Dean’s List
MS in Electrical Engineering
1999 • Bradley University • Peoria, IL, USA • GPA: 3.8/4.0
BTech in Electronics and Communications
1997 • Sri Venkateswara University • India • 95-97 Dean’s List
Citizenship / USA and UK