Vishal Solanki

Vishal Solanki is the director of Evoke Mediaworks, a storytelling company based in Los Angeles. Under his leadership, Evoke creates documentaries, short films, and educational and instructional content that help corporate and non-profit organizations unleash their creative storytelling power to communicate, educate, and impact audiences worldwide.

Vishal’s wide range of interests motivates him to capture stories that explore the intersections of art, science, technology, healthcare, and social justice issues. His strength is in simplifying complex ideas into powerful stories that are accessible and inclusive.

Vishal earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts (Commercial Art) from the prestigious Sir J. J. Institute of Applied Art in Mumbai, India. During his time there, he was apprenticed to cinematographer Binod Pradhan on the highly acclaimed Bollywood film MUNNABHAI MBBS, as well as various music videos and commercials. Vishal graduated as a bronze medalist, specializing in Still Photography, and went on to work as an advertising, fashion, and glamor photographer for multiple advertising agencies, including Ogilvy & Mather, Grey Worldwide, Rediffusion, and Mudra Communications.

He received several accolades for his work, including the state government award for his creative campaign for Levis Jeans, the Ogilvy and Mather Award, and the Communication Arts Guild Award.

After collaborating with cinematographer Vijay Kartik on Bollywood success TAXI NO. 9211, Vishal traveled to the United States to study Cinematography and Film Directing at the Los Angeles Film School, where he graduated with honors.

Vishal produced, co-directed, and photographed CAFFEINATED (2015), a feature-length documentary about coffee filmed in ten countries. After its world premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Amazon Prime acquired the documentary.

Vishal served as the associate producer of BY MY SIDE (2024), a documentary partially funded by the California Humanities Production grant. BY MY SIDE aired on KPBS in November 2024 and will be available on online streaming platforms and public broadcast in 2025.

In 2024, Vishal was the associate producer of THESE COURAGEOUS MEN, a story highlighting the journey of European Jewish Refugees who fled Nazi Germany and migrated to the U.S. to enlist in the U.S. Army and fight the Nazis during World War II.

He also worked as a second unit cinematographer on THE ADVOCATES (Amazon Prime), a film that examines the rise of homelessness in Los Angeles. Vishal is actively involved in various projects aimed at addressing and combating homelessness in Los Angeles County.

In partnership with the Colburn School of Music in Los Angeles, Vishal filmed the series RECOVERED VOICES, which tells the story of music composers who lost their lives in World War II. Their music scores were revived, performed, and filmed under the supervision of renowned conductor James Conlon.

Vishal has received two scholarships from the MacArthur Foundation for the Investigative Reporting Workshop and the Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival for his directorial work in women’s criminal justice documentaries.

Funding for his documentary projects currently in production has come from the James Knight Foundation, the David and Reva Logan Foundation (UC Berkeley Journalism), and the Center for Cultural Innovation.

His films have been featured on Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO, MTV, and PBS in the United States, as well as numerous broadcasting platforms in Europe and India.

Vishal has been a volunteer for the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, using his photography and storytelling skills to embolden their advocacy and mission of de-carceration and restorative justice.

For the past five years, he has served on the committee of the Institute for Religious Tolerance, Peace, and Justice, a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles. In this role, he films their interfaith marches and discourses aimed at bridging the interfaith and religious divide.

Vishal has also been a guest speaker at Chapman University’s Dodge College of the Arts and has taught documentary reenactment classes at Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies. He currently works as an adjunct faculty member in cinematography at Santa Monica College’s Film program and is a member of the International Documentary Association and the Asian American Documentary Network.