Jacintha Charles is a Singaporean Indian Filmmaker and Actress based in San Francisco, California.
She started her career as an actress in Singapore which eventually took her to the United States where she found her calling as a filmmaker.
Stemming from her own life experiences growing up in Singapore, one of her goals as a filmmaker is to tell truthful yet intimate stories, giving a voice to people for being who they are but may otherwise be challenged and stereotyped - where their strengths and choices may have been ignored, downplayed or seen as flaws. Jacintha has been fortunate enough to have her works funded by the Singapore Film Commission and have screened her films at several film festivals including Vail, Bronze Lens, Crested Butte, New Filmmakers LA, Julien Dubuque, Cinefantasy and Phoenix International Film Festivals.
Her latest film, Madhavi, received the Film Independent Fiscal Sponsorship and has had a successful run in the film festival circuit receiving accolades including Best Short Film at the prestigious UK Asian Film Festival, Best Short Drama Film at the Oregon Short Film Festival, and Best Social Impact/Social Justice Short Film at the Phoenix Shorts Film Festival. A story touching on the aftermath of domestic violence within the South Asian community, the screenplay also placed in several screenplay competitions including the competitive Final Draft Fellowship, Page International Screenwriting Awards and Atlanta Film Festival. She was selected for the Stowe Story Lab where her script was further developed as a feature.
She has completed her other screenplay, SINGAPURA, a coming-of-age story inspired by the 1964 Race Riots in Singapore and is also working on The NIGHT SHIFT, a semi-autobiographical story based on the relationship with her father.
She hopes her journey as a filmmaker will motivate and encourage others like herself to tell stories of their own.
Jacintha is member of the Alliance of Women Directors, Women in Film, Film Independent, The San Francisco Film Society and Screen Actors Guild.