Meet the Team
Sarita Khurana
Director/ Producer
SARITA KHURANA is an award-winning filmmaker whose work includes A SUITABLE GIRL (2017 Best New Documentary Director at Tribeca Film Festival, Netflix, Amazon); THE LAST RESORT (2025, Best Documentary at ISAFF Canada); and CROSSROADS (2022, Emmy Nominee as part of the series ASIAN AMERICAN STORIES OF RESILIENCE AND BEYOND; Winner Best Documentary, Chicago SAFF). Sarita's films have been supported by the Tribeca Film Institute, the International Documentary Association, New York Foundation for the Arts, the Asian Women's Giving Circle, Women in Film, PBS/World Channel and the Center for Asian American Media among others. Sarita holds an MFA in Film from Columbia University.
Yoav Attias
Director/ Executive Producer
YOAV ATTIAS is an award-winning filmmaker and creative director. He is the co-director of FAULT LINES, a feature documentary about the housing crisis that premiered at Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in 2024. He was a producer for the Peabody Award-winning docu-series BRICK CITY featuring Cory Booker as the mayor of Newark. He served as the showrunner on CHICAGOLAND, an 8-hour docu-series for CNN, which was Executive Produced by Robert Redford and received widespread critical acclaim. He was also co-creator of the TV docu-soap GAINESVILLE on CMT/Viacom, and supervising producer on OCEAN WARRIORS, which was produced for Animal Planet and Paul Allen's production company, Vulcan.
R J Narang
Executive Producer
RJ NARANG is an entrepreneur, investor, and producer, and the founder and former CEO of Renegade Technology Systems, where he built and led a government services firm serving federal clients for nearly two decades. He is also the founder of Great White Buffalo, a production company dedicated to creating thought-provoking and educational media for the public. Driven by a deep passion for politics, film, and his cultural roots, RJ developed SEAT AT THE TABLE as an opportunity to bring these elements together through storytelling.
Nick Rathod
Executive Producer
NICK RATHOD, over the span of his twenty-year career, has built a reputation of building successful campaigns, businesses, governmental and non-governmental institutions and as a key advisor to the nation’s leaders. He was the campaign manager for Beto O'Rourke's gubernatorial run, the Deputy Director for Intergovernmental Affairs in the White House and was the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the Obama-Biden Transition Team. In Hollywood, Nick was the Executive Producer of a multi-award winning short film called NOW & NEVER.
Prerana Thakurdesai
Producer
PRERANA THAKURDESAI’S producing credits include the feature doc, THE LAST ECSTATIC DAYS (PBS, Apple TV, winner, Iris Impact Award), THE LAST RESORT (winner of Best Documentary at iSAFF,) Oscar-qualified short WHERE THE LIGHT ENTERS YOU, The History Channel's 9/11: THE LEGACY and the hit Indian TV series, SATYAMEV JAYATE. A DOC NYC Documentary New Leader honoree, Prerana is also the co-founder of Bitchitra Collective, a network of 450+ women and non-binary documentary filmmakers of Indian heritage.
Sunita Prasad
Editor
SUNITA PRASAD is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker best known for editing impactful feature documentaries such as AFTERSHOCK (Peabody Award Winner, Emmy Nominee, Sundance Special Jury Award Winner; Hulu), STORMING CAESARS PALACE (BlackStar Shine Award Winner; Independent Lens), and THE RINGLEADER (HBO). Sunita’s work as a director has exhibited internationally at film festivals and venues such as the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, Centre Clark in Montreal, and Flux Factory in New York City.
Simon Taufique
Composer
SIMON TAUFIQUE is a British Indian, Emmy-nominated and multiple award-winning composer and producer, known for Land of Gold (HBO MAX), The Interpreters (PBS), The Weight of Gold (HBO), Imperium (Lionsgate/Universal), and Berlinale-winner, She's Lost Control. He is a Sundance, Berlinale, and Tribeca Alumni, contributes as a juror for Oscar-qualifying festivals, a Fellow of multiple film programs, Co-President of HRTS Associates-NY, and teaches at NYU and Sundance Institute.
Suzanne Giordano
Line Producer
SUZANNE GIORDANO is a Brooklyn-based Line Producer with over 15 years of experience in production management, specializing in documentary filmmaking. Some of her recent credits include the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series PHOTOGRAPHER for National Geographic, EARTH, WIND & FIRE (TO BE CELESTIAL VS. THAT’S THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD), directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson for HBO, and the Sundance-selected MURDER IN BIG HORN for Showtime/Hulu.
Arsh Harjani
Archival Producer
ARSH HARJANI is a New York-based documentary filmmaker. His credits include Peabody Award-winning PATRIOT ACT with Hasan Minhaj, and IDA Award-winning A TOWN CALLED VICTORIA. He spent four years as the lead archival producer on Vox Media’s productions for Netflix, including their flagship series EXPLAINED. He has served as a Judge for the News & Doc Emmys and the IDA Awards. He is a member of the Writers Guild of America, Archival Producers Alliance, and the Television Academy.
Zakia Smith
Post-production Supervisor
Boston born and raised, ZAKIA SMITH moved to New York to attend NYU where she studied film and theater. After graduation, she briefly worked for Actors’ Equity, but quickly moved into film, first as a script reader and project manager. She subsequently moved up to head of post and post producer positions for films and television, primarily in documentary and true crime. She has worked on documentary projects for Netflix, Amazon, and Peacock. Her first loves are writing and photography, and she is currently querying her first fiction novel.
Samuel Valenti
SAMUEL VALENTI is a Philadelphia-based filmmaker. He has worked post-production on M. Night Shyamalan’s SERVANT and Ridley Scott’s DOPE THIEF. His short films have played at such festivals as BERLIN LIBERI FILM FESTIVAL, MAINE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, and won Best Narrative at DIAMOND SCREEN FILM FESTIVAL. He is currently in post-production for his industrial-thriller HER FLOODING LIFT.
Melissa Thompson
Associate Editor
MELISSA THOMPSON has been editing for the past twenty years. She’s especially drawn to projects that shine a light on today's most pressing issues through humor. Her work includes award-winning documentaries, including the LGBTQ feature, MARRIED IN SPANDEX; SHE GOT BALLS! about gentrification and race relations in South Philadelphia; the 16mm microdoc DASH, SNOWBOARDER, AGE 92; iSAFF best documentary winner, THE LAST RESORT and HOME, DELIVERED part of A-Doc's COVID STORIES series, as well as countless social issue videos.
Anne Alvergue
Additional Editor
ANNE ALVERGUE is an Academy award nominated documentary filmmaker and editor in the greater New York area. She directed and edited THE MARTHA MITCHELL EFFECT (NETFLIX,) nominated for a 2023 Academy Award in the Best Documentary Short film category. She has edited many acclaimed documentaries, including the Emmy-nominated LOVE, GILDA; the Emmy-nominated BODY PARTS; and Emmy and IDA-nominated BULLY.COWARD.VICTIM: THE STORY OF ROY COHN; MAINTENANCE ARTIST (Tribeca) and WHO KILLED ALEX ODEH? (Sundance, Berlinale). She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a film envoy for the American Film Showcase.
Gopi Shastri
Field Producer
GOPI SHASTRI is an Emmy-nominated director, producer and writer committed to telling beautiful, compelling stories that elevate the storytelling experience through perspectives that are provocative, authentic and reflective of global diversity. She believes that smarter, braver work sparks curiosity about the complexities of the human experience, and is known for uncovering stories that reveal resilience in extraordinary circumstances and challenge prevailing orthodoxies. Gopi has created non-fiction content for National Geographic, Hulu, CNN, HBO Max, CBS, PBS, Discovery spanning Africa, South America, Australia, Asia, Europe, and throughout the United States.
Khushali Haji
Design and Social Media Producer
KHUSHALI HAJI is a researcher and creative producer with a background in documentary filmmaking, journalism, and urban design. Her short ST. JOE’S HOES received a Special Jury Mention when it premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival. Currently exploring the intersection of AI, civic technology, and visual storytelling, she brings a cross-disciplinary lens to content creation and design strategy.