Neil Thekdi is a film producer and the Founder & CEO of Loveland Pictures. After graduating from NYU Tisch, Neil moved back to California to be closer to family and begin producing films in Los Angeles. Apart from running Loveland, Neil is also the Co-Founder & President of Rickshaw Film Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit focused on amplifying and uplifting South Asian voices in Film & TV. The films that Neil has produced have been selected for Vimeo Staff Picks, Miami Film Festival, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Aesthetica, LA Shorts, and more. Neil is currently developing a slate of feature films with Gold Mill Productions under the LGM Features banner. Outside of producing, Neil enjoys adventures into the great outdoors.

Priya Kiran (she/her) is an independent writer, director, and voice actor based in New York City. After moving from her small town in Iowa, she found and focused her craft at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and has since been creating art dedicated to uplifting underrepresented communities. Priya’s films have been featured in the Interrobang Film Festival, IFFSA, and many others, and currently she works in development at The Js. Inspired by Desi cinema and her Midwestern upbringing Priya’s artwork strives to emphasize authenticity and empathy through a peculiarly natural, yet whimsical lens.

Akshay Ravi is a director and producer based in LA. He graduated 
from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in 2020, and has since been independently producing and directing short content that has been featured in festivals around the world, in addition to his current job on an anthology series at Blur Studio. Akshay is passionate about telling stories that represent underrepresented voices, advocate for social good, and hopefully make you laugh a little. In his free time, Akshay likes to cook, come up with his next bit, play PS5, and try his hand at firebending.

Sruchi Patel is a writer/director based in Los Angeles, CA. Through her work, she is passionate about ensuring South Asian representation is complex while making people’s hearts swell. Recently graduated from UCLA's film school, she is now an Assistant at a Literary Talent Agency. In the Rickshaw Writers Room, she wrote her first 1/2 hour comedy pilot, Mock'd. Her short rom-com titled LADKE is now on the festival circuit and has premiered at UK Asian Film Festival, CineYouth, and Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival thus far (goal of making people’s hearts swell — accomplished).

Mira Thekdi is an art director and graphic designer based in Los Angeles, California. Mira is currently the Senior Brand Designer at Sweetgreen, where she’s working 
to build and support healthier communities (and perfect her custom bowl). She developed her perspective as a designer while working at companies such as Who What Wear, Marie Claire, and Athletic Greens. Mira’s one true love is end-to-end brand design, through which she’s helped launch brands within the nonprofit, wellness, and skincare spaces. Mira also loves: family, friends, Renoir, International Klein Blue, romance films, helping others, passionfruit, talking, stress cleaning, club sodas with lime, castelvetrano olives, and designing posts like these.

Justin Sidhu is a writer and multi-hyphenate artist native to the San Francisco Bay Area and currently based in Washington, DC. He believes that art is how we share and interpret the complex stories that comprise our lives, as well as the world around us — his greatest passion lies within consuming and producing those narratives.

His work primarily focuses on the ever-evolving South Asian-American culture and its complexities. He has self-published and written articles, essays and content for entities like The Daily Californian, South Asian Productions, The Jasmine Zine, and of course, Rickshaw Film Foundation.

Seeret Singh is a Punjabi-Sikh actor, writer, and director driven by art with a social conscience. Born and raised in post-9/11 New York, Seeret quickly became acquainted with society’s dangerously misinformed perceptions of brown communities. Now she’s dedicated to telling stories for her communities that show all dimensions of the marginalized experience. Her films have screened in museums, universities, and festivals internationally. Her most recent script (which she developed in Rickshaw’s Cycle 4!) is a finalist for the CAPE/Janet Yang Productions Julia S. Gouw Short Film challenge.

Arhana Singhania is a first generation Indian-American aspiring filmmaker interested in telling stories from Western and South Asian culture. She was born in New Delhi, India and spent her formative years in Chicago and Southern California. She is passionate about stories emanating from the South Asian diaspora. Some of her role models include Mira Nair and Satyajit Ray. She currently attends NYU Tisch majoring in Film and Television ('26).

Sowgandhi is a writer based in Los Angeles, where she works at a gaming startup. An award-winning documentary filmmaker and published author, she is committed to telling untold stories that are at once particular and universal - niche narratives that still provoke relatability and emotion for all. Passionate about exploring experimental storytelling through different mediums, her working dream is to write a narrative game title that honors diversity in representation and specificity in its themes. Other things she loves almost as much as writing: matcha, moonrises, and lofi hip-hop.

Rohan Palla is an editor and director who focuses on branded, digital and podcasts for sports and lifestyle. He loves incorporating stylized cuts and fresh typography. Rohan has edited content for clients, including Microsoft, Men In Blazers, the National Women’s Soccer League, Bolero Records, and Goodyear. Rohan is passionate about highlighting diverse and underrepresented stories. He directed the first Telugu-language thesis film at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He recently worked in Hyderabad, India, as an Assistant Director for the Hulu limited series titled Miss Perfect, about a young, Indian professional who is mistaken for a maid. Rohan’s short films and documentaries have been selected at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, South Asian Film Festival of America, LA Shorts, New Filmmakers LA, and the Portland Film Festival.

Maaya Shah is a recent graduate of USC’s Marshall School of Business and a film/theatre actor. At USC, she served as Industry Programming Director for Asian Pacific Cinema Association (USC APCA) where she organized and moderated panels featuring APIDA creatives and executives. Inspired by her Nani, Maaya is passionate about fostering meaningful connections that allow individuals to share their cultures and stories. She spearheaded APCA’s first-ever collaborative panel and networking event for young professionals and students, partnering USC APCA, CAPE, Gold House, and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Warner Asian Voices Elevated BRG. As Programming Coordinator at Rickshaw, she aims to create more opportunities for others and continue creating inclusive spaces.