Paramita Roy

Background

Roy was born as Paramita Mukerjee, the daughter of late Ranada Prasad Mukerjee and Gita Mukerjee (Acharya), a business man and a house wife respectively.

Education

Her early education took place in Kolkata, India where she completed a Bachelor of Arts from Calcutta University. She later studied at the Queensland University of Technology for a bachelor"s and master"s degree in education. Recently, Roy has completed a Theatre Directing course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (National Institute on Drug Abuse), and a post graduate study in Film Directing at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in Sydney, Australia.

Career

Born in Kolkata, India to Indian parents, Roy has relocated her family to Australia in 1999. She left India when she was 23, to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where she lived for 5 years, before moving to Papua New Guinea in 1993. Roy started her career as a school teacher and has taught in Canada, Papua New Guinea, Saudi Arabia and Australia.

Currently, she teaches Information and communications technology at Street Dominic"s Priory College Adelaide, Australia.

In 2002, she initiated the Northern Territory Film-makers Association (NTFA) in Darwin, Australia along with the Down Under International Film Festival as a founding member and secretary till she moved to Canberra in 2004. While in Darwin, she directed many short films including People of the Rock, Tell Maine Why and Reaching to Maine.

In an international collaboration, Roy directed a feature film on child labour, which was mentioned at the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly by Karin MacDonald. The film, Hori Alone in Kolkata was screened in Australia and India.

In 2008-2009, Roy directed another feature film, Another Day in Paradise, which was about three teachers from Australia, Romania and India and their journey.

The film premiered in Australia in February 2010. Between 2005-2008, Roy has had many of her articles published and presented at the national conference held by the Australian Council for Computers in Education. During her studies at National Institute on Drug Abuse, she directed a reflective piece about Indian students in Australia, called Paradise Lost.

This was followed by another documentary and short film in 2010, Portrait of an Unknown Cabbie and The Leper, which were screened in Sydney, Australia.

Achievements

• Roy has received several accolades for her photography including the Life"s Reflection Photography Award presented by the Chief Minister Jon Stanhope.