Neha Lohia, a director & producer from India based in the USA has recently graduated in Film from New York. She has over 18 years of storytelling background in the illustrious Advertising, Hollywood, and Bollywood industries. Her first short film is titled *“Yashodhara The Buddha’s Wife” which premiered at the 12th Annual Queens World Film Festival. This short film has been played in 3 continents thus far including the USA, Europe’s Clermont Ferrand Short Film Festival Market, and in Asia at the Shyalpa Monastery in Nepal which is the birthplace of both the Buddha and his wife Yashodhara the key protagonists of Neha’s short film. She is creating ripples of freshness with her storytelling and content which are being appreciated by audiences all across.
“Neha Lohia is a force to be reckoned with and her work exudes the passion she brings to everything she does. We are excited to share her work” *says Katha Cato, Executive Director of Queens World Film Festival*
“Yashodhara The Buddha’s Wife is a proof-of-concept short film for me, it is part of a larger series that I have envisioned. I had to first ensure that I am capable of handling a mythological and period-based subject as delicate as this one. It is a great responsibility to consciously create when dealing with such huge personalities and sharing lessons from their lives which would be relevant and beneficial in today’s day and age and at the same time to honor my calling to create a legacy to be left behind from these timeless Eastern tales for the whole world to witness and partake, this is my goal and I am grateful to use my skills in this manner.” *says Neha, a multi-passionate creator*
Neha is now working on her first documentary 8-part series titled “Who am I” which features 120+ people from different parts of the world including prominent world-leading personalities like Dr. Deepak Chopra, Spiritual Mentor Mooji Baba, Devotional Singer Krishnadas, Spiritual Healer Braco from Croatia, Historian Elaine Pagels, Author Dan Millman of The Peaceful Warrior series, several faces from Hollywood, Bollywood and people of all age groups from varied walks of life. Neha has completed 85% of filming for this project which is in production since May 2022. She is in talks with Documentary distribution platforms for sharing this incredible piece of content which she is certain, will stir this same inquiry in every viewer and perhaps also offer a glimpse of their own answer when seeing other people share their experiences.
Neha is visiting Mumbai, India currently, and is filming for this same documentary with a powerful female spiritual personality Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati ji who is a renowned spiritual leader, author, and motivational speaker based in Rishikesh, India. Sadhvi ji also recently published her memoir in the form of a book titled ‘From Hollywood to the Himalayas’ which would also make for a great epic cinematic film in days to come.
Stories of women often go unsung, and there is an unearthed bounty of treasures in this space which Neha aims to bring forth with her ongoing research and collated works over the past several years. She believes great creation can happen in the world when conscious women and creators align toward the same purpose. Neha is now keen to say these stories, she is also bringing alive the deeper self-inquiries by digging up scriptures and mythological texts to draw out the various characters of strength and valor that have been part of the mystical Eastern world. Neha’s intent is to make the table larger, to merge the eastern and western boundaries with the power of storytelling, to ensure each one of us has a seat on this table, and to co-create this works in her line-up of conscious entertainment which we can all rejoice together, this is what she calls “innertainment.”
She now visions for her short film Yashodhara the Buddha’s Wife to reach maximum viewers via Ott, on-demand, or any other suitable distribution platforms worldwide, ensuring it is seen by likeminded partners to create, co-produce, and distribute the entire series as per her original idea of 100+ episodes based on the lives of the Buddha and his wife Yashodhara. Neha is also discussing distribution for her documentary series on a relevant platform. She has a line-up of feature films, both crossover and commercial, short films, documentary series, web series, and animated and experimental content in various stages of development and production with her partners in New York and Los Angeles.
