The unbiased manufacturing banner RASA Movie Group is broadening its attain, welcoming tech and hospitality veteran Rohit Bhayana as the newest addition to its partnership ranks because the collective units its sights on increasing its South Asian storytelling ventures.

The New York-based collective, which made its debut in 2024, has already established a observe document of backing female-directed quick movies, with 4 productions accomplished in its inaugural 12 months.

On the forefront of RASA’s present slate, the quick movie “Witness” is making ready for its North American premiere on the 2025 Slamdance Movie Competition. The mission, helmed by administrators Radha Mehta and Saif Jaan, explores the story of an imam dealing with an ethical crossroads between upholding conventional mosque values and defending a male congregant’s religious journey. The movie has gained substantial help, securing funding from the Netflix Tasveer Movie Fund and the InsideOut 2SLGBTQ+ RE:Focus Fund.

The collective’s lineup additionally options “Don’t Be Late, Myra,” a Pakistan-U.S. co-production from director Afia Serena Nathaniel that made its world premiere on the Woodstock Movie Competition, the place it competed for the Oscar-qualifying Mark Braunstein Award. The movie, produced by Tryangle Productions’ Nouman Waheed, has continued its pageant run with choices on the St. Louis Worldwide Movie Competition and the “Gentle in Movement” Competitors at Foyle Movie Competition.

Author-director Arti Ishak’s “Half” lately accomplished manufacturing in Chicago in September and is at the moment looking for pageant berths. The comedy quick, which serves as a proof-of-concept for a deliberate sequence, chronicles the experiences of an Asian-Arab Muslim American confronting the complexities of mixed-race id.

Finishing the present slate is director Dhwani Shah’s psychological horror entry “Seen,” which is about to start its pageant journey on the Poppy Jasper Worldwide Movie Competition in 2025, with plans for characteristic improvement in the identical 12 months.

“We’re so excited to broaden our mandate to incorporate extra tales from the South Asian diaspora and convey extra companions on board that share our imaginative and prescient,” says RASA accomplice Rohi Mirza Pandya.

The group’s founding companions embody Asad Butt, Sujit Chawla, Pandya, and Atul Prashar. Bhayana, who joins as the most recent accomplice, brings substantial expertise because the co-founder of InfoCepts, an information analytics agency, and maintains a connection to the humanities by his place on the board of Washington DC’s Shakespeare Theatre Firm.