Hello, I am Vinay Giridhar. I was born and brought up in Kerala, a beautiful south-western state in India. I have been drawing and painting since I was little. So after finishing my secondary schooling, I knew, I wanted to do something art-related in my life. After completing my Bachelor’s in Animation and Graphic Design I started my career as a visual artist and designer.

My love for storytelling and animation films drew me to Canada where I pursued the Classical Animation Diploma program at Vancouver Film School. My grad film Love’s Age was selected as “Best Class Film,” and I received the Paul Boyd Award and the Vancouver Film School festival scholarship. The film screened at festivals worldwide including the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) in Seattle, USA and HollyShorts Film Festival in California (Academy Award Qualifying).

I then returned to school to study Digital Graphic Design at Vancouver Community College where I found a new love for visual design and digital illustration.

Besides doing freelance work for various individual clients and organizations, I am the art director and graphic and web designer for a leading South Asian publication in Metro Vancouver. I also do extensive social media work and video editing as part of my current role.

Since 2019, I have been working on my first-ever feature film produced by Sher Vancouver. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to direct and edit my debut documentary feature film, Emergence: Out of the Shadows. Emergence tells the story of gay and lesbian people of Sikh background and their parents who live in the Metro Vancouver area. The objective of the film is to bring into light unheard stories of love, loss, rejection, and acceptance. Emergence: Out of the Shadows is receiving excellent feedback from film critics and is currently making waves in film festivals around the world. The film has also been recommended as mandatory viewing in BC high schools.

I value the necessity of constant learning, and I feel the need to push my limits. As an artist I strive to refine my craft, to bring out the subtle essence of my ideas while keeping it true to my vision.