Speaker

• 

  JIJO
  

  JIJO

  JIJO (he/they) is an emerging freelance director, producer, and screenwriter, most recently working as Deputy Head of Creative and Senior Director at RDContent. Spanning documentary, narrative, and commercial worlds, his award-winning visual storytelling explores humanism, contemporary culture, and systems of power.

  Raised between India and the UK, his pursuit of impact storytelling has earned recognitions such as IMDb’s New Filmmaker of the Year, a Cannes Young Director Award nomination, Best Director at the LA Music Video Awards 2021, Best Documentary at Cannes Short Film Festival, a place on BFI x BAFTA Crew 2021, and most recently BAFTA Connect.

  Human stories are at the heart of JIJO’s work, investigating issues like social justice, human rights, the environment, and culture, taking him to over 60 countries. From the frontlines of the Syrian refugee crisis to the bustling metropolises of East Africa, the shadow of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, to environmental hotspots across China and South Asia, Souvid has produced multimedia reports, films, and commercials for clients including Google, Microsoft, National Geographic Magazine, The New York Times, Ernst & Young, Universal Music Group, BBC Studios, TIME, and The Guardian.

  As a photographer, he’s shot editorials and reportage features all over the world, from Kenya to Kathmandu, with exhibitions in London’s Saatchi Gallery, the Houses of Parliament, the Indian Alliance Congress, Royal Geographic Society, and Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

  He’s the writer of four short films, and his latest drama, Moonlight Dreams, was selected in several Oscar and Bafta-qualifying festivals, premiering in the UK at Raindance 2020 and launching online on Nowness and Omeleto. Earlier in 2020, his first narrative series, Fckbois* – a six-episode 30-minute comedy-drama exploring masculinity and mental health – was optioned by Hooked. He is currently writing his debut feature film, a present-day sci-fi drama.

  In factual, his documentary work has previewed at Sundance London 2020, receiving BFI YACF and Creative England support, and most recently, he produced Trust Me, an experimental documentary short on mental health supported by the BFI Doc Society, produced through his production company Just Be Nice Studios, releasing in 2023.

  He also works as an accomplished self-shooting producer/director, with broadcast credits for BBC Two, BBC Four, Paramount+, Channel 4, Discovery Asia, and Film Division India.

  For music videos, clients have included Decca Records, Universal Music Group, Bucks Music Group, Oriyon Music, and more. And in the arts, he directed a six-part performance film series Silent Spaces co-commissioned by The British Museum, WeTransfer, Arts Council England, and the SDA Charity.

  JIJO’s aim is to continue creating cinematic stories that foster empathy and challenge minds.