Kirtana Banskota

Kirtana Banskota is a first-generation Nepali American filmmaker based in Austin, Texas. A producer, writer, director, and actor, Banskota wears multiple hats when it comes to the entertainment world. She is the founder of Banskota Productions, an international production house based in Austin as well as Kathmandu Nepal that celebrates storytelling from all across the globe. Banskota wrote and co-produced the very first audience interactive Bollywood Theatrical Production called The Big Fat Indian Wedding in Austin, TX. She also co-directed Premonition (guest starring Bill Duke) and is Producing an Archeological docuseries called A World Beneath.

Banskota is also the co-founder of the Nepal America Film Society and the Nepal America International Film Festival, both based in Maryland. In the year 2020 during the global pandemic, she co-produced the Coalition of South Asian Film Festivals with six other international South Asian festivals making it the largest virtual South Asian festival. Banskota recently co-founded the very first South Asian House at South By Southwest, which will see the red carpet for the first time in March 2023.

Her documentary short, Nepal Snehi Kaakha, was an award winner at the 2018 Filmaka competition. Her recent film produced during COVID, Ghar Aau (Come Home), has been selected to screen in numerous film festivals across the globe. Banskota is also the co-author and co-producer of For Love, a film that competed and won several awards at the 48-Hour Film Festival in San Antonio. She is also the Executive Producer of the archeological show A World Beneath, whose pilot episode is currently being pitched to various network channels.

A newly elected board member of the Women in Film and Television Austin chapter, Banskota looks forward to bringing a fresh and diverse perspective to the organization. With strong roots in South Asia and the US, her goal is to build bridges between cultures through cinema and entertainment.