Govindini Murty

Govindini Murty (born 1974)[1] is a U.S.-based, Canadian producer, actress, and journalist. Murty's father is Indian and her mother is Canadian of English descent. Murty is a graduate of Yale University, and has been published in The Atlantic,[2] The Huffington Post,[3] and is a member of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists[4] and Indiewire's Criticwire.[5] In 2013, Murty spoke at Social Media Week LA's "Power Women in Entertainment" roundtable.[6] As of 2016, Murty is producer and lead actress on the World War II sci-fi short film UFO Diary,[7] featured in the January 2016 issue of American Cinematographer.[8]

In recent years, Murty has focused in her writing on progressive women's rights,[9] human rights,[10][11] science,[12] and technology.[13] She has interviewed such film icons as Werner Herzog,[14][15] and Stan Lee,[16] as well as notable contemporary filmmakers and actors like Kurt Russell,[17] Catherine Hardwicke, Lynn Shelton, Lake Bell,[18] Steven Knight,[19] and Shia LaBeouf,[20] among others. In 2013 Murty was selected to attend a NASA Earth Science conference at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and has since written on the need to support NASA and promote space science in movies.[21] Murty has also appeared on television to share her thoughts on Hollywood and popular culture. She has appeared on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, AMC, BBC, and in 2007 she cohosted an episode of At the Movies With Ebert & Roeper on ABC.[22]

Murty is also a public speaker and independent film-maker. In 2013 she spoke at Social Media Week LA's "Power Women in Entertainment" roundtable,[23] which promoted women's equality in media and entertainment.[24] Murty is also the cofounder and coeditor with Jason Apuzzo of the on-line film magazine Libertas,[25] established in January 2005, which has become a widely read and influential blog in the film world. New York Times film critic A.O. Scott called Libertas "insightful as well as provocative," and LA Times film columnist Patrick Goldstein called Libertas "a must read."[26] In 2007, Libertas was voted one of the top three culture blogs on the internet during the 2007 Weblog Awards.[27] Libertas went on hiatus in the summer of 2008, returning in its current form as Libertas Film Magazine (LFM) in the Spring of 2010.[28] The new Libertas appears to have a different emphasis from that of its predecessor. Its stated purpose is to promote "films that celebrate freedom, democracy, and the dignity of the individual," and the new site routinely features short films, feature films, webisodes, trailers and reviews of what it terms "pro-freedom films" currently in theaters or on DVD.

Murty continues to be active in the film festival world, covering the Sundance Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival,[29] Los Angeles Film Festival and related events. In 2013 Murty served on the Whistler Film Festival narrative jury for the AWFJ EDA awards for outstanding achievements by women filmmakers,[30] an event which received coverage in Variety when Melissa Leo personally offered to fund the winning woman filmmaker.[31]

In 2016, Murty produced and acted in UFO Diary,[32] a World War II sci-fi short film featured in the January 2016 print issue of American Cinematographer,[33] as well as at The Huffington Post[34] and The Alliance of Women Film Journalists' website.[35] UFO Diary was written and directed by Folio Eddie Award-winner Jason Apuzzo, edited by Emmy Award winner Mitch Danton, with special effects by artists from ILM, Weta Digital, and Digital Domain. The film is stated to be planned for release in 2016.[36]