Munjal Yagnik is an award-winning director and cinematographer best known for his debut feature, Scarlet Winter. The crime thriller has earned multiple accolades, including Best Picture at the North Hollywood CineFest, Best Community Spotlight Feature at the Phoenix Film Festival, and was featured at the San Diego International Film Festival alongside Oscar-winning films. Munjal also received Best Director awards at the Snowdance Independent Film Festival and North Hollywood CineFest.

His previous works include Caught Between Colors, Dream Interrupted, and Basilio – The Musical, with screenings at significant film festivals including Seoul International Film Festival, Tokyo International Short Film Festival, and Montreal Independent Film Festival. Munjal received his BFA and MFA in Film from Syracuse University. In his early television career, he worked on projects for Lifetime Television, Fox Sports 1, Star Plus, and a number of South-Asian TV channels.

Munjal Yagnik is an Associate Professor in the School of Film and Animation at Rochester Institute of Technology. His most significant contributions at RIT have focused on the holistic transformation of their cinematography track through a deep assimilation of modern trends and workflows, and a renewed focus on creative development and theoretical engagement.

Yagnik’s research focuses on cinematography, virtual production, and their role in shaping immersive storytelling. His research explores image pipeline development and modern workflow in cinematography, as well as cinematography in the context of virtual production—its technical challenges, potential, and limitations in shaping suspension of disbelief. His work has been disseminated at major conferences, including the University Film and Video Association (UFVA) and the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru). His presentations include Changing Cinematography Pedagogy for Developing Competence in Inclusive Creative Expression (2024 A2RU Conference), A Cinematography Approach to Create an Illusion of Reality Using Virtual Production (2024 UFVA Conference), and Collaboration as a Conduit to Professional Development, Pedagogy, and Research (2024 UFVA Conference).