Journey to Commencement: Sandip Rai

Sandip Rai’s creative journey brings stories to life on the screen.

When Sandip Rai made a list of possible graduate schools, his factors included location, program courses, community and eligibility. After a Zoom meeting with staff at the University of Mississippi’s Center for the Study of Southern Culture, Rai felt the support and hospitality win him over.

“Additionally, the courses offered were unique compared to other programs I had applied to, which were more focused on technical aspects of filmmaking,” Rai said. “The M.F.A. in Documentary Expression was a program that I had never seen offered by other universities.

“I knew it would be a challenge, but that’s what intrigued me the most to pursue this program and further my career in documentary filmmaking.”

A native of Nepal who earned a bachelor’s degree in film studies and a master’s in psychology from Tribhuvan University, Rai also worked at a prestigious international film festival in Nepal that focused on documentary filmmaking.

He graduates this summer after completing his documentary thesis film “Living with ART (Mississippi Edition),” which is an extension of his M.F.A. class projects, part of a two-year, 30-hour graduate program that combines coursework in Southern studies and interdisciplinary fields with advanced training in photography, film and audio production.

For the full story, visit the University of Mississippi Journey to Commencement page.