Maninderpal Sahota has directed a range of high profile documentaries for the last fifteen years. He has made films all the major US and UK broadcasters across genres - current affairs, authored polemics, specialist factual, drama and drama documentary.

His films have consistently garnered critical acclaim: "A terrific, polemical, even landmark, documentary by Maninderpal Sahota" (Don’t Take My Child), "A fascinating piece of investigative TV" (The Men Who Made Us Fat), Fascinating documentary (The Truth About Child Brides), "An overdue roar of anger" (Abused: Breaking the Silence), "An illuminating and often emotional investigation" (Lindsay Lohan’s Indian Journey).

Maninderpal has filmed around the world, where he has secured access to closed organisations such as the Chernobyl nuclear power station in Meltdown in Chernobyl or to extraordinary individuals, such as a pregnant child bride in Bangladesh (The Truth About Child Brides) or an impoverished mother who gave her young son to child traffickers in India (Lindsay Lohan’s Indian Journey).

In Britain, Maninderpal has made films with vulnerable individuals where he has had to gain access and maintain trust whilst also navigating complex legal compliance issues. In Don’t Take My Child he filmed parents who have had their children forcibly removed by social services and in Abused: Breaking the Silence he followed men coming to terms with sexual abuse suffered as children in a Catholic boarding school.

His presenter-led films demonstrate both distinct authorship and strong journalistic skills, whether The Trouble With Gay Men, a polemical examination of the failings of the gay community or The Men Who Made Us Fat, an investigation into the food industry’s culpability in the obesity epidemic.

Maninderpal has also written and directed drama. Best Mates, a short film, won a production award from the UK Film Council. It premiered at the London Film Festival, and was screened at several major international film festivals. Snowdon and Margaret, a drama documentary was a ratings hit for Channel 4. Most recently, Maninderpal has been selected for the National Film and Theatre School’s prestigious High-End Drama Directors scheme.

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