Born in South London and raised between the UK, Lahore, Pakistan, and Cape Breton, Canada, Sana A. Malik has long been drawn to stories of outsiders and the connections they form. She has directed and produced award-winning work across documentary, narrative, journalism, and branded film in the US, UK and globally.

Her BAFTA-winning documentary GUANAJUATO NORTE was acquired by The New Yorker and screened at festivals worldwide. Her short scripted film AWAY, TOGETHER (Winner: Santa Fe International Film Festival, Toronto Reel Asian, Tasveer Film Festival) was recognized with the North Face’s Move Mountains Filmmakers Award mentored by Barbara Kopple, Eloise King and Taylor Rees. As a documentarian, Sana has directed and produced digital and long-form work for the BBC, NatGeo, HBO, MTV and PBS, including an Emmy-nominated Sesame Street series and a film on artist Lubaina Himid for Art21 (PBS, Season 12). She is currently developing a feature documentary on art, restitution, and colonial legacy with poet Inua Ellams.

As an owner and director at Meerkat Media in New York City, Sana pitched and created award-winning films for Nike, Sesame Street, Groundwork USA, AG1, and the New York Public Library. Her work has been recognized by SIMA and the Emmys, and screened at MoMA, the Smithsonian, and institutions worldwide. She was a 2023 finalist in the DGA-run Commercial Director’s Diversity Program, mentored by SMUGGLER and Arts & Sciences.

Her narrative work is grounded in journalistic documentary training, shaped by empathetic collaboration, realist storytelling, and detailed world-building. She is currently developing two short films and a feature narrative set in Senegal.

Sana holds a Master’s in Documentary Film from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, with additional degrees from the University of London and the University of Toronto. A committed mentor, she has taught at the Institute of Contemporary Photography, CUNY–Newmark, and led mentorship initiatives through her media platform This is Worldtown. She is a member of BAFTA Connect, the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective, Brown Girls Doc Mafia, and Directors UK.