Saroja (Maria-Saroja Ponnambalam) is a filmmaker, interdisciplinary artist and creative producer of Venezuelan and Tamil-South Indian descent based in Treaty 13 territory (Toronto/Tkaronto). Her versatility in filmmaking, sound-art and music composition have been fostered over twenty-years. Her documentary films Pandi, Fotdella, Pretty Little Bits, and The Consequence of Rain, have screened at several international festivals and community settings. She was also a creative producer, picture editor and community media coordinator on the National Film Board’s acclaimed HIGHRISE, a multiple Emmy-winning web documentary.

Saroja was awarded with the Ontario Arts Council’s  K.M. Hunter Artist Award in Media Arts in 2015. She holds a BFA in Film Production from York University, and an MA in Human Geography from University of Toronto.

She firmly believes in the power of BIPOC womxn, (dis)abled, neurodivergent, trans and non-binary peers shaping their own stories, and removing as many barriers as possible to do so. Outside of her arts practice, she is a community planner and affordable housing advocate and has taught several media arts, film and social change workshops for communities facing systemic barriers.