SOWJ KUDVA

EDITOR | PRODUCER | EDUCATOR

MEDIA PRODUCTION & STUDIES

I have been making fiction and nonfiction films for 27 years.

I have been teaching media production & studies for 12 years.

SELECTED & RECENT

RAINBOW GIRLS (2025)

I edited this short film, written and directed by Nana Duffuor, which you can read more about here.

  • New Orleans Film Festival Audience Award

  • NewFest Grand Jury Prize

  • NewFest Audience Award

  • Frameline 2025 Completion Fund Grant

  • Top 3 Finalist for the Iris Prize — the top queer short film prize in the world.

  • YouTube Short of the Week

LOGLINE

As San Francisco’s tech boom gentrifies their city, a group of friends decide to take matters into their own hands, staging an audacious heist targeting the city’s most exclusive luxury brands.

all the words but the one (2024)

I executive produced and edited this film, written and directed by Nava Mau.

I also produced an educational Production Fellowship for emerging trans filmmakers to learn skills during production — like an apprenticeship. This was modeled after Nava’s experience as a fellow on the documentary Disclosure. For more, you can see the Scholarship section of this site.

  • Selected for the Iris Prize 2024

  • YouTube Short of the Week

LOGLINE

Maya and Santiago haven’t spoken since their explosive relationship ended years ago, so neither is expecting to be sitting across from each other at a professional dinner with their new partners.

Trans Heaven, Pennsylvania (2024)

I edited this short documentary directed by Hansen Bursic.

  • Reel Q Best Documentary Short

  • Nominations

    • New Filmmakers Los Angeles

    • West Chester Film Festival

    • Appalachian Queer Film Festival

LOGLINE

In the early 2010s, hundreds of transgender women took over a small American town each year for a legendary weekend-long party – one that changed their lives and the town forever.

This film requires a password to watch. Please contact me for the password.

FORTHCOMING

Womb Envy

I am finalizing the edit of this short narrative film, directed by Song Hà, which we are now submitting to festivals.

LOGLINE

On the eve of a life-risking womb transplant, a trans woman wrestles with her past, her complicated relationship with her mother , and the impossible hope of becoming a mother herself.

What water holds

I am currently finishing writing and editing this short documentary, directed by Kristal Sotomayor, and produced by Hansen Bursic.

LOGLINE

The film aims to educate Pennsylvanians about water privatization in their state that raises water prices while neglecting to fix degrading water systems.

trans trucker project

I am currently editing this short documentary, directed by Hansen Bursic, and produced by Mars Verrone and Carolina Sabrina Caruso.

LOGLINE

In this intimate documentary, Ashleigh, a transgender woman and third-generation truck drive, forges a new path for herself, finding freedom on the open road she couldn’t find elsewhere.