Aruna Naimji: Director, Animator, Screenwriter, Producer, Executive Producer, Production Designer, Picture Editor
Aruna Naimji was born in Skeldon Guyana, and raised in Toronto Canada. She attended Claude Watson School for the Art and Earl Haig Secondary School. Aruna later completed a double major in illustration and communication design at Parsons School of Design in NY. After completing her first degree, Aruna has worked as an Art Director in advertising, and as a teacher in Pusan, South Korea. Upon returning from Korea, Aruna’s goal was to make films. Aruna received two scholarships to study at The New School University in NY. She is currently pursuing her masters in Design and Technology, with a certificate in film. Aruna is interested in combining live-action with various types of animation in a narrative framework called Lucid Realism. The work of Jan Svankmajer, The brothers Quay, Guy Madden and Luis Bunuel are some of the filmmakers of influence to Aruna, primarily for their highly stylized constructed realities that are surreal and dreamlike. Aruna has worked on a number of independent films, video and television projects before making One Balloon with Aram Hekinian.