Iyanah Bativala

Iyanah Bativala is a filmmaker and screenwriter working across narrative, documentary, and commercial film. Born in New York and raised in Mumbai, she holds a BA in Performance and Media Arts from Cornell University and an MFA in Directing Cinema and Digital Media from FAMU, Prague.

She was a writer on the Amazon Prime series Waack Girls, writing three episodes of the show, now streaming in over 200 countries worldwide. In 2023, she was commissioned to adapt the bestselling novel A Murder on Malabar Hill into a television series bible. She has also developed original scripted projects for Indian platforms like Disney Hotstar.

As a co-founder of Rai Productions, a production company started with friends, Iyanah has shot and directed video content for clients like Shop Lune and Kayan. Her music video for the song “Be Alright” was named one of Rolling Stone India’s 10 Best Indian Music Videos of 2021. She has also produced video content for Eny Lee Parker and EDAS.

Her short film Working Holiday (2022) received the Best International Student Short award at the Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival. Slavic Cowboy (2024) premiered at the Oscar-qualifying In the Palace International Short Film Festival. Her most recent short, Nesting (2025), distributed by Agencia Freak, had its world premiere at the 36th São Paulo International Short Film Festival – Curta Kinoforum and screened at the 22nd Festival de Cine Europeo de Sevilla (SEFF).

She is currently represented by Matter Entertainment.

Contact

iyanah7@gmail.com

disha.vachher@matter-ent.com