She has won the Award along with Harshit Saini for the film Humans in the Loop (Aranya Sahay) at the edition 2025.

Monica Tiwari is a cinematographer based in Mumbai, India. Finishing her masters in film studies with a specialisation in cinematography from the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India, Monica comes from a background in documentary stills photography with a keen focus on anthropological and environmental relations. Starting her career as a photojournalist for the Hindu newspaper, she is the recipient of grants such as the India Habitat Photosphere, Centre for Science and Environment fellowship, with works shown at Angkor Wat photo festival, Fotogallery Cardiff, India International centre, India Habitat Centre, Alliance Francais India among other places.

A deep love for cinema brought her to to the Film and Television institute of India, Pune, where she completed her Masters in Film with a specialisation in film cinematography. She balances projects to explore both the commercial and indie aspects of fiction filmmaking.

She has worked as second unit dop/operator for films camera for films such as Amar Singh Chamkila and Dhadak2, several tv and digital commercials, and has worked as the director of photography for a narrative short ‘Razaa’, ‘Humans in the Loop’ and others.