Nisha Balaram is a documentary filmmaker based in Oakland, California.
About
Nisha Balaram is a filmmaker based in Oakland, California, and a graduate of UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.
As a video producer, she has created original content for clients, overseeing development through deliverables and acting as a director, producer, cinematographer, and editor. She also oversees post deliverables and has previously produced videos for Spanish-language audiences. Recent projects include the David Brower Center’s Planet or Plastic? National Geographic Society exhibition virtual tour (roles: director, cinematographer, editor), a PBS and Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) special celebrating Asian American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander heritage month (roles: co-producer, video editor), Radio Free Asia’s 25th anniversary (roles: director, editor), and an educational ranching and gardening series for the University of California (roles: director, cinematographer, editor).
Aside from these freelance projects, she has developed skills in story development and field production. In 2022, she worked for Proximity Media as an intern in the nonfiction division. Proximity is a multimedia company founded by several creatives, including Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ryan Coogler, producer Zinzi Coogler and writer and producer Sev Ohanian with the mission to create content to bring audiences in closer proximity to stories involving often-overlooked subjects. Nisha also contributes as a story consultant for Open’hood Films, Inc., founded by Director Peter Nicks (one of the co-founders of Proximity Media).
In 2023, Nisha was an Associate Producer through Actual Films for the documentary series, Voices Rising: The Music of Wakanda Forever. In Voices Rising, we see Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Göransson and director Ryan Coogler collaborate with musicians and artists from across the globe, creating the music for one of the most anticipated sequels in modern movie history.
Outside of these projects, Nisha is an alumna of the North Star Fellowship through the Points North Institute and a member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia, a community of BIPOC and non-binary professionals in the filmmaking space.