In a Special Conversation with Saniya Mirwani - A Rising Star in the World of Films & Entertainment

Saniya Mirwani

Saniya Mirwani is a filmmaker and writer based between Mumbai and New York. She is the Founder and Executive Producer of Sherni Studios, a media collective that is on a mission to amplify underrepresented female voices through content and social activism. She also works as a Creative Producer at honto88, where she has produced content for brands like Netflix, Hulu, Women's Philanthropy Institute, Commit2Change, and Conscious Kid.

Most recently, she co-wrote and directed; Any Given Night, produced by the Emmy nominated producer Caralene Robinson and Meghana Murthy. Any Given Night follows the story of two college best friends who party their way through a bizarre night of alcohol and strange men. Set in a utopian world where gender equality is the norm, this dark comedy challenges the current standard for men in society.

Any Given Night has already premiered at the Berlin International Art Film Festival, Chicago South Asian Film Festival, International Film Festival of South Asia -Toronto, Berlin Lift-Off Film Festival, New Faces New Voice Film Festival in New York, New Jersey, India and International Film Festival, Tasveer South Asian Film Festival in Seattle, Arkgate International Film Festival, and the Women Cinema and Arts International Film Festival. The film continues to make its presence in the festival circuit globally.

What inspired "Any Given Night", and how did it come into play?

Our world has become immune to threats against women's safety, placing the burden on women to keep themselves safe. But what if there was a world where women didn't worry about safety, where men and women respected each other? Any Given Night is a dark comedy that shares a world where this idea isn't crazy. It's the norm. As a team of young women, each of us has experienced moments where we have felt dismissed, invisible and unsafe. We seek to demand a space for our stories, our voices, and our visibility in an industry that continuously denies our experiences and presence. Our film is inspired by the moments when women have felt unsafe on any given night, thinking of potential dangers like being roofied, groped, assaulted or worse. As a result of our worry, the burden has been placed on women to make sure we are keeping ourselves safe.

"Any Given Night" leaves our audience challenging our current standards for men and questions why our world doesn't allow women to enjoy a night out without worrying about safety.

How did you develop the world of the film?

When my co-writer, Ann Nelson and I were developing the story, we decided to speak to a number of women from different countries, races, communities and classes and asked them a simple question - "If all men disappeared for one day only, what is the first thing you would do?" And the results were astonishing. Most women said they would just go out for a walk alone late at night. And so we decided to take that further, to imagine the possibilities of what we, as women, would feel comfortable doing if we were guaranteed safety. And unfortunately, that turned into very basic things like being able to take a drink without being vigilant about it, not carrying pepper spray or some kind of weapon for protection on public transport, being able to dress and act a certain way etc. And so we dared to imagine this world where gender equality is the norm, and that gave birth to Any Given Night.

What are your goals with the film?

Our key goal for Any Given Night is to create awareness and share solutions for safety with young men in women in colleges today. We currently are partnering with non-profit and college organisations focused on sexual assault and harassment on campuses to build an education curriculum alongside our film. This curriculum will include screening our film coupled with a discussion on the best tools needed to change campus culture and provide resources to the student survivors of the university that are available through non-profits outside of campus.

What are you currently working on?

After the success of Any Given Night, I launched Sherni Studios, which is a media collective that is on a mission to amplify underrepresented female voices through content. We are currently supporting another short film scheduled to shoot in New York in August called Pleats, directed by Anoushka Agrawal, which follows a conversation between an elderly Indian lady who confesses to having an extramarital affair, and her granddaughter, both of whom realize that they seek the same thing to be understood.

I am also working on another short called Diwali Dilemma, directed by Mohana Rajkumar, which is a modern-day twist on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dicken and follows Sita, an Indian American woman who is grappling with her drudgery.