Ashish Dawar grew up in various parts of India. Through his travels within a diverse landscape of cultures & people, he developed a fascination for story and imagery. He began to document them with his uncle’s 35mm Olympus still camera. Initially, photography & making documentary films shaped his layered approach to story & narration. How do you tactile the intangible? the unseen? the smells? a rhythm? a complex emotion? What is the relationship between matter and energy? He began to seek answers through he medium of visual arts.
Gradually he moved to scripted content/ narrative work. Over last 8 years he has shot full length features, shorts, music videos, commercials, promos, multi-cam live events, web. He holds a MFA (cinematography) from AFI (American Film Institute) & currently he is a cinematographer based in Los Angeles. He recently got selected into the prestigious BAFTA Talents program.
The first narrative feature he shot, UNDER THE SAME SUN (2011), had a world premier at the Mill Valley Film Festival 2015 in San Francisco & won the Audience Choice Award, Silver. At the Sedona International Film Festival 2017, it won a double – Best Foreign Film & Best Humanitarian Film Award. At the Conorado Island Film Festival 2017, it won the The Dale St. Denis Best Woman Filmmaker Award. Subsequently, Ashish had the opportunity to shoot a language feature, KANDATHAI SOLLUGIREN (2015) & a documentary feature JHATKA (2014) for National Award winning director, B. Lenin. Recently he lensed a short narrative GOLD FORTUNE, that won the Best Film at the New Era Festival, Beijing & Amsterdam IFF. It has received nominations and official selections at several festivals including oscar qualifying LAshortsfest.
He is trained to shoot on film & is an early adopter of digital technology with advanced digital workflows. Traveling, observing & being curious; he is in a constant forage to lens stories that Entertain & Inspire.

ashishdawar.dp@gmail |
+1 323-854-0186
Accolades
‘Under the Same Sun’ (FF) | Dir: Mitra Sen
★ Best Foreign Language Film, Audience choice – Gold
Sedona International Film Festival (SIFF) 2017, Sedona
★ Best Narrative Feature Audience choice – Silver
Mill valley Film Festival (MVFF) 2016, San Fransisco
★ Best Humanitarian Film, Director’s choice
Sedona International Film Festival 2017 (SIFF), Sedona
★The Dale St. Denis Best Woman Filmmaker Award
Coronado Island Film Festival(CIFF) 2017, San Diego
★ Special Jury Commendation for Best World Cinema
PTFF Port Townsend film festival, Port Townsend, WA, 2107
★ Official Selection
25th Heartland Film Festival, Indianapolis, 2016
St. Louis international Film Festival, St. Louis, 2017
Global Peace Film Festival, Florida 2016
‘Gold Fortune’ (Short) | Dir:Rhyme Lu
★ Best Film
New Era Film Festival 2017, Beijing
Amsterdam International Film Festival 2017, Amsterdam
Riverside International Film Festival 2017, Riverside, USA
★ Official Selection
41st Asian American International Film Festival, New York, 2018
LAshortsFest, Los Angeles, 2018
Edmonton International Film Festival, Alberta, Canada, 2018