NAINA BHAN

Naina's interest in the visual medium began through photography and her love for storytelling, which evolved into a Masters's Degree in Film and Video Communication from the National Institute of Design, India. As a filmmaker, she believes my strength lies in her grasp of film language and developing visual vocabulary. It has allowed her to work seamlessly through both fiction and non-fiction formats, in writers' rooms, and on edit. As a director and a DA, Naina has predominantly worked in independent film-making with the Delhi-based production house, Jamun. Last year she had the opportunity to expand my love for cinema to acting when she was cast as Koel Kalra in the Netflix International series, Class. It was through that series that she first engaged with intimacy coordination. Intimacy was at the core of her character arc, which meant that over the year of shooting, she became well-versed with workshops, choreographies and onset protocols for intimacy work. Naina's experience as an actor coupled with professional and academic background in cinema pushed her towards eventually training as an intimacy coordinator.

The new wave of Indian cinema has brought with it the reimagination of Indian intimacy. Audiences, actors and filmmakers are opening up the conservatively depicted space. It is an exciting prospect to be at the forefront of this wave, especially as an intimacy coordinator. It gives her opportunities to visualise honest and authentic Indian intimacy, steeped in cultural context. Naina's goal as an intimacy coordinator is to create brave spaces for actors and crew, to help create cinematic moments that resonate with audiences and importantly to challenge the traditional gaze and tonality that have previously dictated Indian cinema.