Reaa Puri is a filmmaker drawn to stories that explore the textures of being human. Her work spans documentary and narrative, often rooted in collaboration and a deep curiosity about what shapes people, places, and the emotional landscapes between them. She is especially drawn to the complexities we don’t always speak aloud, but that live between gestures, silences, and glances — the truths that come alive on camera.

Reaa is the founder of Reascend Creative, a TEDx speaker, and the recipient of two Cannes Lions Gold Awards, the Roselyn Schneider Eisner Prize, and the SFFILM Holbrooke Female Fund. Her work has been supported by Netflix, ITVS, SFFILM, BAVC, CAAM, UnionDocs, and Youth Speaks. Her shorts have played at Sundance Film Festival, Museum of Modern Art, DOC NYC, SXSW, Mill Valley Film Festival, London Asian Film Festival, SF IndieFest, BAMPFA, and more.

Previously, Reaa was an assistant director on Mary Kom, the Netflix-streaming feature starring Priyanka Chopra, and served as showrunner of a Vh1 India TV series, Born Stylish. She was also Director of Photography and Editor for a Nike campaign celebrating Black History Month. Reaa has led video teams at Wear Your Voice Magazine, Carbonated.TV, and Hearst Digital Media, and her photography has appeared in Vogue Magazine.

In 2018, she co-founded Breaktide Productions — a women-of-color–owned production company — which she helped grow until 2024. Reaa earned her B.A. in Film and Media Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. Her creative practice is deeply shaped by her upbringing between Berkeley, Mumbai, Delhi, and Kuwait.