Sonita Gale
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Sonita Gale is an award-winning director, writer and producer, who was BAFTA and BIFA-longlisted for her 2022 feature-length film, Hostile. The film is an exploration of the problematic treatment of migrant communities in the UK, and was inspired by her family history and experiences as a second generation migrant.
Born in Wolverhampton, her South Asian heritage is central to her storytelling and she is a proud champion of new and diverse talent. She first delved into filmmaking as a producer on Carnegie: Rags to Riches, Power to Peace (2015), an historical documentary tracing the life of the 19th Century Scottish industrialist, Andrew Carnegie. It featured actor Brian Cox as the voice of Carnegie and was directed by Vicky Matthews.
Continuing her producing career, she has developed projects with other notable female directors. These include a music documentary centred on female artists and directed by the Emmy-Award winning Geeta Gandbhir.
Following this, Sonita embarked on her directorial debut with Hostile, which premiered at the Raindance Film Festival in 2021, and was released in cinemas in 2022. The film garnered numerous awards, including the Best Documentary Feature award at the 2021 South London Film Festival, Filmocracy Fest 2022 and the Roxbury International Film Festival 2022.
The film was also a finalist at the Catalina Film Festival and the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival (in the Supreme Award and Best International Director categories), and was nominated for Best International Doc and Overall Audience Favourite at the 2022 NorthwestFest International Documentary Film Festival, and Best Documentary at the 2022 British Urban Film Festival.
In 2020, Sonita produced a short film, International Health Service, directed by the Emmy and BAFTA-nominated Ursula Macfarlane, as well as the lockdown comedy web-series Happy Epidemic created by Jonathan Jude. Both have been selected for multiple festivals and won several awards.
Sonita Gale lives in London, and is developing her next documentary feature project.
Born in Wolverhampton, her South Asian heritage is central to her storytelling and she is a proud champion of new and diverse talent. She first delved into filmmaking as a producer on Carnegie: Rags to Riches, Power to Peace (2015), an historical documentary tracing the life of the 19th Century Scottish industrialist, Andrew Carnegie. It featured actor Brian Cox as the voice of Carnegie and was directed by Vicky Matthews.
Continuing her producing career, she has developed projects with other notable female directors. These include a music documentary centred on female artists and directed by the Emmy-Award winning Geeta Gandbhir.
Following this, Sonita embarked on her directorial debut with Hostile, which premiered at the Raindance Film Festival in 2021, and was released in cinemas in 2022. The film garnered numerous awards, including the Best Documentary Feature award at the 2021 South London Film Festival, Filmocracy Fest 2022 and the Roxbury International Film Festival 2022.
The film was also a finalist at the Catalina Film Festival and the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival (in the Supreme Award and Best International Director categories), and was nominated for Best International Doc and Overall Audience Favourite at the 2022 NorthwestFest International Documentary Film Festival, and Best Documentary at the 2022 British Urban Film Festival.
In 2020, Sonita produced a short film, International Health Service, directed by the Emmy and BAFTA-nominated Ursula Macfarlane, as well as the lockdown comedy web-series Happy Epidemic created by Jonathan Jude. Both have been selected for multiple festivals and won several awards.
Sonita Gale lives in London, and is developing her next documentary feature project.
