Sej Saraiya is an interdisciplinary visual artist, acclaimed photographer, and filmmaker known for her ethnographic and fine art photography documenting Indigenous cultures across the globe. She earned her MFA in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California in 2009 and has since undertaken immersive photographic journeys throughout Asia and the Americas, creating portraits that offer intimate windows into remote communities and their deep relationships with the natural world.

Her work has taken her to some of the most remote regions on earth, where she has spent time with tattooed headhunters in Northeast India, medicine women in British Columbia, shamans of the Venezuelan Amazon, and globally respected leaders and humanitarians. At the heart of Saraiya’s practice is a commitment to preserving cultural heritage, ancestral wisdom, and fragile ecosystems through visual storytelling.

A dedicated leader in her field, Saraiya serves on the board of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP–LA) and the Garifuna Indigenous International Film Festival (GIIFF), and contributes to the Topanga Film Festival (TFF). She is also a Professional Member of American Photographic Artists (APA) and a lead facilitator for the BRIDGE photography mentorship program. In 2024, she founded and directed the World Culture Film Festival for the Art of Living Foundation.

Saraiya regularly participates in speaking engagements, workshops, and panel discussions at universities, museums, and film festivals. Her work has been featured in publications including ELLE, LA Yoga Magazine, Deadline, and Luxury Lifestyle Magazine. A published author, she wrote the book Becoming Still, and her essays have appeared in national publications and peer-reviewed journals such as USA Today, STEAM Journal, and Hindustan Times. Her photography has been exhibited internationally in galleries, museums, and public venues such as John Wayne Airport, and is held in private collections worldwide.

Her award-winning short fiction film The Curious Woods (2021), exploring the essential connection between humans and nature, has screened at numerous festivals and received over 30 awards, including Best Environmental Film and Best Director. Her earlier short The Language They Spoke (2019), a meditation on the overlooked power of silence, received accolades including Best Experimental Film.

Based in Topanga, Saraiya continues to work across photography and film, using visual storytelling to advocate for the preservation of the world’s diverse cultures, landscapes, and ecological futures.