BIOGRAPHY
HARSHAL ALURKAR aka HARSH PUNDIT
Harshal Alurkar - aka Harsh Pundit - is an independent Filmmaker, Cinematographer, Producer, Editor and Film Programmer, based in New York City, whose projects have screened & won accolades in four out of the seven continents. Proficient in every stage of Digital Video Production, Harshal has amassed more than 8 years of professional experience, across various types of projects such as narrative fiction, non-fiction, experimental, commercial, non-profit, for both long-form and short-form. Harshal’s body of work features culturally diverse yet specific, socially relevant, auteur-driven personal stories across mediums such as Film, New Media and Theatre, with a running thread of documenting Art, Artists and Activists.
As a media professional, Harshal has provided critical creative consultation & services to major institutions and brands such as Brooklyn Museum, Western Union, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Film at Lincoln Center, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, New York Film Festival, Parsons School of Design / The New School, Billie Holiday Theatre, CultureHub, Grove Collaborative, Sound Mind Live, Billboard, to name a few. These projects have featured in prominent, award-winning national & international publications such as Billboard.com, FilmLinc.org, Times of India, Indian Express, Scroll.in, etc. As an independent film artist, Harshal has developed & supported short & feature-length films that have been awarded & screened around the world, in International Film Festivals like Reel Out Charlotte, Impact Docs Awards, Berlin Flash Film Festival, Bowery Film Festival, Indian World Film Festival, IFFI-Goa, etc. Most recently, Harshal served as a Deputy Manager of Film Production at Govt. of India's National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) where he supervised production of about twenty films - an eclectic & diverse mix of features, documentaries & animation projects of various cultural background & languages.
Harshal has also served as a Film Programmer for 45th Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) and Tasveer South Asian Film Festival 2024 and continues to serve as a Screening Committee member for True/False Film Fest and Slamdance Film Festival (Narrative Shorts). Harshal was a Juror for the Short Film competition at Carnegie Mellon University's International Film Festival. Harshal has also served in management roles for Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) and International Film Festival of India (IFFI-Goa) & Film Bazaar and the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF). Harshal holds a Master of Arts degree in Media Studies from the prestigious The New School university, where he was awarded both Dean and Executive Dean's merit scholarship along with a Student Service Award for exceptional contribution to the student & teacher community as a Teaching Assistant and as a Research Assistant.