Souvid Datta is an emerging director, screenwriter, and photographer. Spanning both documentary and narrative worlds, his award-winning work explores humanism and systems of power.
Born in Mumbai and raised in London, his pursuit of impact storytelling has earned recognitions such as IMDb New Filmmaker of the Year, a Cannes Young Director Award nomination, landed him on the Vogue India 20 Under 26 list, a place on the BAFTA x BFI Crew list and the Best Documentary Award at Cannes Short Film Festival.
Human stories are the heart of Souvid’s work, investigating issues like social justice, human rights, the environment and culture and taking him to over 60 countries. From the frontlines of the Syrian refugee crisis, to the bustling metropolises of East Africa, in the shadow of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, to environmental hotspots across China and South Asia, Souvid has produced multimedia reports, films and commercials for clients including Google, National Geographic Magazine, The New York Times, Universal Music Group, The British Museum, BBC Studios, TIME and The Guardian.
As a photographer, he’s shot editorials and reportage features all over the world, from Kenya to Kathmandu, with exhibitions in London’s Saatchi Gallery, the Houses of Parliament, the Indian Alliance Congress, Royal Geographic Society & Bibliotheque National de France.
He’s the writer of four short films, and his latest drama, Moonlight Dreams launched online on Nowness and Omeleto after being selected in several Oscar and Bafta-qualifying festivals and premiering at Raindance 2020. Most recently, he wrote narrative series, F*ckbois, a 6 episode 30min comedy-drama exploring masculinity and mental health. And his debut feature film, a present-day sci-fi-drama set in East Africa is currently in development, and directed a six-part extended music video series co-commissioned by WeTransfer, The Royal Albert Hall, SDA and Arts Council England.
In factual, his next documentary feature project is currently in development with BFI and Creative England support at Singer Films. He also works often as a self-shooting producer/director for broadcast, including for Lost Musicians of India, a 6-part documentary series for Channel 4 (2017), and second-unit director for BBC4's Rhythms of India (2019).
Souvid’s aim is to continue creating cinematic stories that foster empathy and challenge minds.
Projects
- Silent Spaces - Breaking the silence of iconic British cultural venuesReclaiming iconic cultural spaces, performance halls and empty museums that have been out of action during the COVID-19 pandemic, and breaking their silences with new music, dance and hope, Silent Spaces' is a powerful new project, a 6 part series of videos directed by Souvid Datta featuring lead artist Soumik Datta and a diverse community of musicians, dancers and artists
- Dark Rising - Trailer - Superhero TV Series in Development for 2019Evolving the superhero genre Though aimed at the vast genre following, Dark Rising is not intended as another populist Marvel / DC iteration. Rather, a hyper-realist tone, a global scope and a cinematic vision will set the show apart, with the grand ambition of provoking debate on human virtue itself. By evolving beyond the comic-style caricatures of The CW staples, and by always setting character conflicts within a backdrop of contemporary global issues, Dark Rising aims to become television’s
- Photography FolioA portfolio of photographic commissions spanning over 50 countries for editorial briefs, news features, advertising and personal stories. Clients include National Geographic, Google, Save the Children, The Guardian and more. See more archives on Instagram: https://instagram.com/souvid/
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Work history
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Creative DirectorSD Films
London, United KingdomFreelance
Development and production of commercial and editorial visual media including – television series, multimedia campaigns, branded content, narrative shorts, music videos, script development and interactive sites for clients including Google, Channel 4, BBC Earth, Discovery Channel. Extensive experience in film direction, production, photography, copywriting, screenplay development and post-production. Confident leading creative front-end web design and prototyping, UX, digital marketing / branding and social channel strategy.
Skills
- Editorial Photography
- Video Production
- Video Postproduction
- Cinematography
- Brand Storytelling
- Communications
- Video Editing
- Content Creator
- Creative Direction
- Brand Strategy
Education
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BA Hons International Relations, Conflict Studies & LawUCL
London, United Kingdom