Aneesh Chaganty

Aneesh Chaganty (; born 1991 or 1992) is an American film director and screenwriter. He made his feature film directorial debut with the 2018 thriller Searching, for which he won the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

Early life and education Aneesh Chaganty was born in either 1991 or 1992 in a Telugu family in Redmond, Washington,

His father, who obtained an MS degree in computer engineering from Drexel University, serves as a director and Chief Technology Officer at a software publishing, consultancy and supply company founded by both his parents, AppEnsure Inc. Chaganty attended Valley Christian High School from 2005 to 2009. He graduated from USC School of Cinematic Arts in 2013 with a degree in film and television production.

Career

2014–2017: early career In 2014, Chaganty's two-minute short film, a Google Glass spot called Seeds, became an internet sensation after garnering more than 1 million YouTube views in 24 hours. Following its success, Chaganty was invited to join the Google 5 team at Google Creative Lab in New York City, where he spent two years writing and directing Google commercials. He also made one for Super Bowl. was released on August 24, 2018, before opening wide on August 31, also premiering at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2018.

Chaganty's second film Run, a thriller starring Sarah Paulson and Kiera Allen, was set to be released on January 24, 2020, then May 8, 2020, but was pushed back because of the COVID-19 pandemic, was released on Hulu on November 20, 2020. Run became Hulu's most watched feature title ever during its opening weekend beating not only all previously watched Hulu Originals Films, but also licensed SVOD film titles, and ranked as the most talked about Hulu Original Film to date on Twitter. It was later released internationally by Netflix on April 2, 2021.

Missing, an anthology sequel to Searching, was premiered at Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2023, and released theatrically on January 20. Chaganty wrote the story with Sev Ohanian and they co-produced it alongside Natalie Qasabian. It was released by Netflix on May 20, 2023, and became number one most streamed movie in the US in just two days, where it dominated the Top 10 chart for a week and was watched for 5.2 million hours during that first week on the platform streaming giant.

2024-present In 2024, Chaganty collaborated with Meta in partnership with Blumhouse to make a short film using Meta Movie Gen, an AI video generating tool by the tech giant, titled i h8 ai. The short film was featured on Meta's Movie Gen site and their YouTube channel.

Recognition Chaganty was included in the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Hollywood & Entertainment list.

In 2021, he was featured in the December issue of Vanity Fair, representing Gold House as an AAPI leading member.

Filmography Short films YearFilmDirectorWriter Notes 2007 Nug Also film editor and producer 2008 The Sound of Evanescence Also film editor 2009 Starving! Also film editor 2011 Alibi 2012 Monsters Also film editor Microeconomics Adventure, Wisconsin Also sound editor and producer 2014 Seeds Sponsored by Google Glass 2024 i h8 ai partnered with Blumhouse for Meta Movie Gen

Feature films YearFilmDirectorWriterProducer Notes 2018 Searching Feature directorial debut 2020 Run 2023 Missing

Acting credits

TV roles Year Title Role Note 2018 Made in Hollywood Himself Season 13 Episode: 46

Film roles Year Title Role Note 2010 The Liaison Himself Short film 2014 Google Glass: Seeds Traveller Short film 2024 i h8 ai Himself Short film

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Film Result2018 Locarno Film Festival Variety Piazza Grande Award Searching Sundance Film Festival Best of Next! Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize(shared with Sev Ohanian) Sydney Film Festival Best Narrative Feature Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society AwardsBest First Feature