7th Empire Media

Catching The Sun explores the interwoven stories and characters leading change in our current global economy towards a clean energy future with a focus in solar power. The film follows solar power trainees looking for employment opportunities in the solar power industry, solar entrepreneurs like Wally Jiang, and activists, such as, Bay-Area activist, Van Jones and Green Tea Party activist, Debbie Dooley. All of these successes and failures speak to one of the biggest questions of our time: will the U.S. actually be able to build a clean energy economy?

Shalini Kantayya finished in the top 10 out of 12,000 filmmakers on Fox’s On The Lot, a show by Steven Spielberg in search of Hollywood’s next greatest director. She created her production company, 7th Empire Media, with the purpose to create a culture of human rights and a sustainable planet through imaginative media that makes a real impact. Her sci-fi film, A DROP of LIFE, won Best Short at Palm Beach International, and was broadcast on national television in the U.S. and India. Additionally, Shalini is a William J. Fulbright Scholar who has received recognition from the Sundance Documentary Program, IFP Spotlight on Documentary, Jerome Hill Centennial, New York Women in Film and Television, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. She is a Sundance Fellow, a TED Fellow, and was a finalist for the ABC Disney| DGA Directing Fellowship.