DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER
Editor | Director 
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Hi there!I’m Indrani Kopal, and I’m an independent Malaysian-born documentary filmmaker based in Sydney. Telling stories has always been my dream. My stories are meant to inspire and promote empathy. Documentary medium helps me to connect with others, asking people questions and hearing their stories. Everyone has their own story, but only when they share do they realise how extraordinary they are. Mundane becomes profound when you capture them through a lens.
If you have seen some of my work here, you may have found some stories are uplifting, inspiring and optimistic; while others are heartbreaking and despairing; whatever the story, my aim is always to cherish memories and celebrate an individual and their life. My partner and I love our travels; those moments are magical for me. I love meeting people and seeing new places; the various sights and sounds deeply enrich my creativity. I also teach during the academic year at a film college in Sydney. Teaching sometimes takes some time away from working on my films full-time, but working with young people re-energises me, keeps me grounded, inspired and reminds me to be a lifelong learner. | ||
About
Indrani Kopal is a Malaysia-born documentary film director and editor with a background as a video journalist. She has directed and edited over 50 web documentaries and special features for Malaysiakini, an online news organization in Malaysia, focusing on social and political issues, especially the issues of the marginalized rural Malaysian Indian community.
Indrani's filmmaking interests focus on biographical films and collaborative storytelling. In 2007 Indrani's first short documentary, She's My Son, won the Justin Louis Award at the 2007 Malaysian's Freedom Film Festival. Indrani received a Fulbright Scholarship in 2012 to pursue an MFA in Documentary Film Studies and Production at Hofstra University in New York.
Indrani's short documentary film, The Game Changer, was screened in seventeen film festivals and won three best short documentary awards. The film profiled a choreographer who taught modern dance to incarcerated men at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility in New York.
In 2018, She followed up on the men's lives upon release, navigating old relationships, securing a job, and deciding whether to continue dancing in her debut feature documentary, Incarcerated Rhythm. The film received the Mira Nair Award for Rising Female Filmmaker at the 2018 Harlem International Film Festival and was screened at several film festivals in the United States.
Indrani runs a production company in Malaysia called Far East Documentary Center, where she tells deeply intimate stories of ordinary people in the hidden corners of society. Indrani Kopal often employs various filmmaking methodologies, such as participatory video and video diaries, that allow her protagonists to engage within their own stories.
In 2021, Indrani moved to Australia, lives in Wollongong, NSW, with her partner, and teaches film editing and documentary in Sydney.
Indrani's filmmaking interests focus on biographical films and collaborative storytelling. In 2007 Indrani's first short documentary, She's My Son, won the Justin Louis Award at the 2007 Malaysian's Freedom Film Festival. Indrani received a Fulbright Scholarship in 2012 to pursue an MFA in Documentary Film Studies and Production at Hofstra University in New York.
Indrani's short documentary film, The Game Changer, was screened in seventeen film festivals and won three best short documentary awards. The film profiled a choreographer who taught modern dance to incarcerated men at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility in New York.
In 2018, She followed up on the men's lives upon release, navigating old relationships, securing a job, and deciding whether to continue dancing in her debut feature documentary, Incarcerated Rhythm. The film received the Mira Nair Award for Rising Female Filmmaker at the 2018 Harlem International Film Festival and was screened at several film festivals in the United States.
Indrani runs a production company in Malaysia called Far East Documentary Center, where she tells deeply intimate stories of ordinary people in the hidden corners of society. Indrani Kopal often employs various filmmaking methodologies, such as participatory video and video diaries, that allow her protagonists to engage within their own stories.
In 2021, Indrani moved to Australia, lives in Wollongong, NSW, with her partner, and teaches film editing and documentary in Sydney.
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Filmmakers & Films That Inspired MeMy filmmaking philosophy, style and cinematic approach are deeply influenced by filmmakers such as Agnès Varda, Chantal Akerman, Trinh T. Minh-Ha, Sarah Polley, Christine Noschese (my former professor at Hofstra University), Jean Rouch, Joris Ivens, and Nicolas Philibert to name a few. Their films taught me the power of observation by focusing on everyday life, the people who live it and sacredly exploring life as it is.
I love poetic, avant-garde, & experimental documentaries, as well as the contemporary hybrid films that weave together nonfiction filmmaking with traditional fiction filmmaking. 
Here's a list of my favourite documentary films. These are compelling films that greatly informed and influenced my storytelling.
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Over the years, I relentlessly pursued one passion: making films that could change hearts and minds and ignite social change around the issues that I care about in my community. This strong ‘purpose’ has constantly motivated me to keep going throughout difficult circumstances, and stay true to my core values, and impart them in the stories I tell.
My most successful films are undeniably stories about resilient women who have overcome incredible challenges – The Game Changer, Teacher the Tradition Bearer, Dr Hartini's HERWORLD series, and my first documentary, She's My Son. I am aware of the complexity of their character and how they fight their everyday storms for justice, equality and freedom. I am also fascinated about how they live, love, and how their values allow them to represent themselves in the world. I truly believe everyone wants to be part of something bigger than themselves. Everyone wants to be part of something special that inspires them, and that's what good stories do. I look for stories that inspire me, and in telling that story, I get to share it with others, and these are the stories that I want to leave behind as my legacy. |
My Filmmaking Journey (2004–Present):
Film festivals experience, the film community, friends, and family have supported me in this incredible journey. Thank you for your love and encouragement, above all, for believing in me and in the work I do.
MY WORLD
Speaking Inquiries
I love sharing my storytelling process through film screenings, followed by an in-depth discussion on the journey. I have developed and given workshops, talks, and presentations and been featured as a speaker, panelist and moderator for many events, film festivals & conferences. I want to empower inspiring and emerging filmmakers with my own experience, skills, and knowledge that I've gained over the years.
To inquire about workshops or speaking engagements, please email me at
[email protected]
To inquire about workshops or speaking engagements, please email me at
[email protected]
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Guest Speaker (2006-present):
2021 Ways of Seeing: Storytelling through documentary, George Town Literary Festival (GTLF) 2021 The Theme of Reimagine: Storytelling in Motion, G-Short Short Film Festival 2021 FINAS: 5-Day Documentary Storytelling and Producing Workshop 2020 The Troublemakers’ Assembly Conference, Taylor's University 2020 Moderator, Women Make Waves Film Screening & Panel 2019 The 6th International Search Conference 2018 Mobile Film Workshop, University of the Bahamas 2018 The 6th iLEAD Conference, Taylor’s University, Malaysia 2017 Visiting Scholar - MacEwan University, Edmonton Canada 2016 The Art of Telling Real Stories on Screen, Curtin University, Sarawak, Malaysia 2016 Women: Girls - The Young Changemakers Summit 2016 AGNI Filmmaking Camp in Malaysia 2015 PEO Convention in Albany, New York, USA 2009 Video Journalism Workshop at The Timor-Leste Media Development Centre (TLMDC), East Timor |
Honours & Awards (2007 - Present):
2019 Asia Tatler's Generation T, Malaysian honouree 2018 Mira Nair Award for Rising Female Filmmaker for "Incarcerated Rhythm". 2016 AGNI Youth Icon Award. 2015 Kalai Payanam Award, Certificate for International Achievement. 2015 Great Women of Our Time Award for "Arts & Media" by The Malaysian Women's Weekly Magazine. 2015 Best Student Documentary Award at The American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at Cannes, France. 2014 Bustle's Annual Upstart Award. 2014 Best Short Documentary at 9th Annual Harlem International Film Festival, New York. 2012-2014 Fulbright Malaysian Graduate Study and Research Scholarship Award. 2010 George Washington University (GWU) International Emerging Documentary Filmmakers Fellowship. 2008 Most Outstanding Asian Youth Ambassador (AYA) Award, Runner up. 2007 Justin Louis Award in Freedom Film Festival, Film 'She's My Son' |
Film Festival Jury (2014 - Present):
2021 International Documentary Association’s (IDA) David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award Jury, USA 2021 G-Short Film Competition (Georgetown Festival), Malaysia 2021 Bank Negara Malaysia MYDUITSTORY Competition, Malaysia 2021 Harlem International Film Festival - Mira Nair Award Jury, USA 2019 BMW Shorties Film Festival, Malaysia 2018 New Hope for Malaysia Video Contest (IACT Student Film Festival) 2018 Malaysian Indian Wedding Photography and Videography (MIWPV) Competition, Malaysia 2018 Freedom Film Festival, Malaysia 2017 Pesta Filem Kita, Malaysia 2016 Freedom Film Festival, Malaysia 2016 Agni Film Award, Malaysia 2014 Hofstra Student Film Festival, New York, USA |
AS FEATURED IN |
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