Nina Sabnani is an animator, illustrator, researcher, and educator whose films weave together art, storytelling, ethnography, and oral traditions.
Her collaborative works with artists and folk storytellers have received national and international recognition. A graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Vadodara, and a Fulbright Fellow with a master’s degree in film from Syracuse University, New York, her doctoral research on the Kaavad storytelling tradition led to the book Kaavad Tradition of Rajasthan: A Portable Pilgrimage. Sabnani co-founded the Animation Design programme at the National Institute of Design and later taught at IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay. She currently teaches at Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bengaluru, and UPES, Dehradun, and serves as Festival Director of the AniMela International Animation Festival.
Her honours include the National Award (Rajat Kamal) for Hum Chitra Banate Hain at the 64th National Film Awards (2016), the Big Little Book Award for Illustration (2018), the Legend of Indian Animation Award (2021), and the Ram Mohan Award of Excellence in Animation (2024).