Lighter Studio is dedicated to developing original stories for the screen and page. We gravitate toward themes that are international in scope, and characters of different backgrounds brought together through the powerful shifts in perspective a compelling narrative can generate. We are based in Bangalore, India and Paris, France.

Lighter Studio was founded by Nandini Rao. A graduate of The Oxford School of Drama, she was declared the winner of the CANNESFILMS Unlimited residency in 2021—a programme organised by The Black List, Vivendi, Canal+ and the Université Côte d’Azur with the aim of nurturing the next generation of screenwriters. Her work has since been awarded Best TV Pilot at the Geneva International Science in Fiction Screenplay Awards, as well as placed in the second round of the Austin Film Festival script competition and Circle of Confusion fellowship programme. She is currently working on a screenplay for Swedish-based production company Trollheim Studios.

Lighter Studio is best known for its first co-production Spirit of the Forest—an animated short film for children set in a sacred grove in south India. A collaboration with Hidden Kingdoms and Ghost Animation, the film was officially selected for more than 50 festivals around the world, including the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Our ongoing projects include an alternate-history graphic novel set in a fictional and secretive Asian nation called Jaan, as well as a coming-of-age novel called Thrillenial, set between New York City and Bangalore.

Stay tuned.