Filmmaker’s Biography

Shashwati Talukar was born and raised in India. MARRIAGE COPS is her second documentary feature. She began her professional career in New York City as an assistant editor for Michael Moore, and later worked on projects for HBO, BBC, Lifetime, Sundance, and Cablevision. Her films have screened internationally, including at the Busan International Film Festival, the Kiasma Museum of Art in Helsinki, and the Whitney Biennial. Her work has received support from the Asian Cinema Fund in Busan, the Jerome Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Tribeca Foundation, and the India Foundation of the Arts among others. Shashwati has been awarded the James Yee Mentorship Award from the Center for Asian American Media and the Project Involve Fellowship from IFP (Gotham)/New York. She has an MFA in Film and Video Arts from Temple University, Philadelphia, and an MA in Mass Communications from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. She works as a director and editor between Taiwan and India.

Cheryl Hess is an award-winning filmmaker and cinematographer from Philadelphia. Her short documentary SHE GOT BALLS! was a finalist in the If/Then Shorts (Northeast) pitch competition and was recently awarded the Best Director Prize (short) at the Atlanta Docufest. Her work has been supported by the Tribeca Film Institute, The Knight Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts and many others. In 2018 Cheryl won the grand prize in the AIA Film Challenge for PAST/PRESENCE: SAVING THE SPRING GARDEN SCHOOL, a short she directed, shot, and edited. In 2022 she served as co-DP on Ufuoma Essi’s experimental 16mm documentary IS MY LIVING IN VAIN? which was awarded a Silver Bear at the Chicago International Film Festival. To inspire more women, who may have little presence in the online camera space, Cheryl recently launched her own YouTube Channel, ANALOG GIRLm, where she discusses working with motion picture cameras and other related topics.