Acclaimed with three recent Emmy nominations and an Emmy win in 2022 Nainita Desai, is an Ivor Novello Awards and British Independent Film Awards nominee, winner of Discovery of the Year at the World Soundtrack Awards 2021, a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit, the International Film Music Critics Association Breakthrough Composer of 2020, and described by Empire as one of the top five composers to watch for 2022.

Her recent projects include Oscar nominated and BAFTA and Cannes winning feature documentary For Sama, and The Reason I Jump, an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity. This ground-breaking feature, which won an Audience Award at Sundance in 2020, is based on the nonfiction bestseller by Naoki Higashida. Other recent projects include the hit Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, BBC drama series Crossfire, Oscar winning John Battsek’s feature documentary The Deepest Breath, and a forthcoming fantasy drama series for Disney+.

Nainita moves seamlessly between working with orchestras and song writing, with her musical foundations rooted in world music; she composes using her collection of custom-made instruments, electronics and found sound. This innate musical ability, coupled with a background in sound design and technical innovation, has fuelled her powerful and emotive scores. Her original approach to composition involves deeply researched collaborations to find those voices that are not usually heard, creating sounds that are truly unique, and ensuring that she is one of the most sought-after composers for both drama and documentary.

Acclaimed with three recent Emmy nominations and an Emmy win in 2022 Nainita Desai, is an Ivor Novello Awards and British Independent Film Awards nominee, winner of Discovery of the Year at the World Soundtrack Awards 2021, a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit, the International Film Music Critics Association Breakthrough Composer of 2020, and described by Empire as one of the top five composers to watch for 2022.

Her recent projects include Oscar nominated and BAFTA and Cannes winning feature documentary For Sama, and The Reason I Jump, an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity. This ground-breaking feature, which won an Audience Award at Sundance in 2020, is based on the nonfiction bestseller by Naoki Higashida. Other recent projects include the hit Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, BBC drama series Crossfire, Oscar winning John Battsek’s feature documentary The Deepest Breath, and a forthcoming fantasy drama series for Disney+.

Nainita moves seamlessly between working with orchestras and song writing, with her musical foundations rooted in world music; she composes using her collection of custom-made instruments, electronics and found sound. This innate musical ability, coupled with a background in sound design and technical innovation, has fuelled her powerful and emotive scores. Her original approach to composition involves deeply researched collaborations to find those voices that are not usually heard, creating sounds that are truly unique, and ensuring that she is one of the most sought-after composers for both drama and documentary.

Film

2023 – Sweepstakes Hero (forthcoming)
Directed by Clair Titley
Misfits Entertainment / MRC

2023 – Phantom Parrot
Directed by Kate Stonehill
BFI / Doc Society / Tribeca / CAA

2023  – The Deepest Breath
Directed by Laura McGann
Ventureland / A24

2023 – Villeneuve & Pironi
Directed by Torquil Jones
Noah Media / Sky Studios

2022 – Body Parts
Directed by Kirsty Guevera-Flanagan

2022 – The Wall
Directed by Nick Hardie
Windfall Films / Amazon

2022 – Delikado
Directed by Karl Malakunas
Naked Edge Films

2022 – Boycott
Directed by Julia Bachen
Just Vision

2021 – 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible
Directed by Torquil Jones
Noah Media Group / Little Monster Films / Netflix

2021 – Look Away
Directed by Sarah Cunningham
Sky / Top Hat

2021 – Persona
Directed by Tim Travers Hawkins
Dorothy St Pictures / HBO Max / CNN Films

2021 – The Reason I Jump
Directed by Jerry Rothwell
BFI / Vulcan Productions / Met Films

2021 – The Story of Us
Directed by Kevin Macdonald
Doscsville Studio / ITV

2020 – American Murder: The Family Next Door
Directed by Jenny Popplewell
Knickerbocker Glory / Netflix

2019 – For Sama
Directed by Waad Al-Kateab and Ed Watts
Channel 4 / PBS

2019 – Darkness Visible
Directed by Neil Biswas
BFI / Protaganist

2018 – Enemy Within 
Directed by Gabriel Robertson
27Ten Productions

2018 – Untamed Romania
Directed by Tom Barton-Humphries
Off The Fence / European Nature Trust

2018 – The Life After
Directed by Brian Hill
BBC / Irish Film Board / Century Films

2016 – Mumbai High – A Musical
Directed by Brian Hill
BBC / Century Films

2015 – The Confessions of Thomas Quick
Directed by Brian Hill
BFI / Century Films

TV

2021-2023 (forthcoming) – The Tower (series 2 & 3)
Directed by Jim Loach
Mammoth Screen / ITV

2023 (forthcoming) – Earthsounds
Directed by Sam Hodgson
Offspring Films / Apple TV+

2023 – Predators
Directed by Dan Smith
True To Nature / Sky / Netflix

2023 – Funny Woman
Directed by Oliver Parker
Rebel Park / Potboiler / Sky

2022 – The Confession
Directed by Sam Hobkinson
ITN / Amazon Studios

2022 – Crossfire
Directed by Tessa Hoffe
Dancing Ledge Productions / BBC

2022 – Maryland
Directed by Brian Hill & Lucy Kirkwood
Century Films / BBC Films

2021 – The Tower (series 1)
Directed by Jim Loach
Mammoth Screen / ITV

2021 – Sophie: A Murder In West Cork
Directed by John Dower
Lightbox / Netflix

2021 – One Cup, A Thousand Stories
Series Producer Matthew Springford
BBC Studios / MIGU

2020 – Bad Boy Billionaires: India
Exec – Morgan Matthews
Minnow Films / Netflix

2020 – Unprecedented: Real Time Theatre from a State of Isolation
BBC / Century Films / Headlong

2020 – Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson
Directed by Simca Jacobovici
Cornelia Street Productions

2020 – Fierce Queens
Series Producer Tuppence Stone
BBC Studios / Quibi

2018 – Earth’s Natural Wonders
Directed by Jobim Sampson
BBC Studios

2018 – Equator From The Air
Executive Producer Ruth Shurman
Dragonfly / BBC

2018 – Extraordinary Rituals
Series Producer Tuppence Stone
BBC NHU

2018 – Wild Africa: Rivers of Life
Directed by Gavin Maxwell & Ben Wallis
Aquavision

2016-2017 – Tribes, Predators & Me (Series 1 & 2)
Series Producer Ted Oakes
BBC NHU

 

Games

2023 – Zau’s Legacy (forthcoming 2023)
Silver Rain Studios

2022 – Immortality
Half Mermaid Productions

2019 – Telling Lies
Sam Barlow / Half Mermaid Productions / Annapurna Interactive

Live Events & Installations

2023 (forthcoming) – FOSO [Outdoor Immersive Installation]
Sensoria, USA
Briuce Munro Studios

2022 (forthcoming) – Unboxed – Green Space Dark Skies [Live Event]
Directed by Mark Murphy
Walk The Plank Productions

Awards & Recognition

2022 – Primetime Emmys – Outstanding Composition in a Documentary – Nominee (14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible)

2022 – Emmys [News & Documentary Awards] – Best Original Score for a Documentary – Winner (The Reason I Jump)

2022 – Camile Awards [European Film Composer Awards] – Best Score for a Feature Documentary – Winner (The Reason I Jump)

2022 – World Soundtrack Awards – People’s Choice Award – Nominee (14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible)

2022 – FIMUCITÉ Tenerife International Film Musc Festival – Best Documentary Score – Winner (14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible)

2022 – Girls on Film Awards – Winner (Best Composer)

2022 – ASCAP Composer Choice Awards – Best Documentary – Nominee (14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible)

2021 – World Soundtrack Awards – Winner (Discovery of the Year)

2021 – Cinema Eye Honors – Nominee (The Reason I Jump)

2020 – British Independent Film Awards – Nominee (The Reason I Jump)

2020 – RTS Craft + Design Awards – Winner (For Sama)

2020 – Ivor Novello Awards – Nominee (For Sama)

2019 – International Film Music Critics Awards – Winner (Breakthrough composer of the year)

2019 – RTS Craft + Design Awards – Best Music Original Titles Nominee (Extraordinary Rituals)

2019 – GOPO Romanian Academy Awards – Best Film Music (Untamed Romania)

2019 – NatureVision Film Festival – Winner – (Untamed Romania)

2019 – Music + Sound Awards – Winner (Telling Lies)

2019 – British Independent Film Awards – Nominee (For Sama)

2019 – Jerry Goldsmith Awards – Nominee (Extraordinary Rituals)

2016 – Music + Sound Awards – Winner (The Confessions of Thomas Quick)

2016 – BAFTA Breakthrough Brit