Peggy Rajski

Peggy Rajski
Name	Peggy Rajski
Occupation	Filmmaker, producer, educator, advocate
Notable works	Smile Pinki
Awards	Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film

Peggy Rajski is an American filmmaker, producer, educator, and advocate known for directing and producing the Academy Award–winning short film "Smile Pinki" and for her leadership in cleft-lip and cleft-palate initiatives. She has worked across independent film, documentary, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and public health collaborations, bridging film industry institutions with global health partners.

Early life and education

Rajski was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and attended regional schools before pursuing higher education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she studied communication arts and media; she later completed graduate studies at the University of Southern California and participated in programs at the American Film Institute and Sundance Institute. During her formative years she engaged with local media outlets, community theaters, and regional arts councils including the Milwaukee Repertory Theater and the Wisconsin Film Festival, which shaped her early interest in narrative film, documentary storytelling, and cinematic production techniques.

Career

Rajski’s career spans independent filmmaking, studio production, festival programming, and academic leadership. She worked in development and production alongside figures and organizations such as Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Robert Redford, Debra Winger, Miramax, New Line Cinema, Sony Pictures Classics, and Fox Searchlight Pictures. As a producer and director she collaborated with peers from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Directors Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America, and the Producers Guild of America, and she developed projects that screened at the Sundance Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, the Telluride Film Festival, and the Cannes Film Festival. Rajski taught film production and screenwriting at institutions including the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, Columbia University School of the Arts, the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, and the Chicago College of Performing Arts. She served on boards and advisory committees for cultural bodies such as the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Film Institute Conservatory, the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the International Documentary Association, and the Motion Picture & Television Fund.

Smile Pinki and filmography

Rajski co-directed and produced "Smile Pinki", which won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film; the film premiered at festivals including Sundance Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival and led to outreach screenings in partnership with Smile Train, Operation Smile, UNICEF, World Health Organization, Doctors Without Borders, and major philanthropic foundations such as the Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. Her filmography includes short films, documentaries, and narrative features shown on platforms and channels including HBO, PBS, National Geographic, BBC, and Arte. Rajski collaborated with cinematographers, editors, and composers who have worked with institutions like the American Society of Cinematographers, the Academy Awards nominees circle, and festival programmers from Sundance, Tribeca Film Festival, and SXSW. Her production credits intersected with filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Werner Herzog, Ava DuVernay, Greta Gerwig, and producers associated with Participant Media and Lionsgate.

Advocacy and charitable work

Following the success of "Smile Pinki", Rajski helped expand cleft repair access through partnerships with Smile Train, Operation Smile, local ministries of health, and global health networks including WHO programs and regional NGOs across India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Nigeria. She engaged with policy makers and health leaders at forums hosted by the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the United Nations, and the Global Surgery Initiative, and she advised philanthropic organizations such as the Clinton Foundation, the Gates Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation. Rajski worked with academic medical centers including Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Stanford Medicine, and Boston Children’s Hospital on surgical outreach, training curricula, and public-awareness campaigns. She collaborated with patient advocacy groups and professional societies like the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, International Confederation of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, and regional surgical associations to promote standards of care, research dissemination, and capacity building.

Awards and honors

Rajski received the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for "Smile Pinki" and has been recognized by film and philanthropic organizations including the Directors Guild of America, the Producers Guild of America, the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Film Institute, the Sundance Institute, and international health bodies such as the World Health Organization and the United Nations agencies for her cross-sector impact. She has been honored by universities and cultural institutions including Columbia University, University of Southern California, Brown University, and the Smithsonian Institution for contributions to film, education, and global health advocacy.

Personal life

Rajski balances filmmaking, teaching, and nonprofit work and has participated in panels and lectures alongside figures from Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Sundance Institute, Directors Guild of America, American Film Institute, and Harvard Kennedy School. She continues to mentor emerging filmmakers at programs run by Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Institute, Film Independent, and university film schools, and she remains active with philanthropic partners including Smile Train and Operation Smile.

Category:American film directors Category:American film producers Category:American women film directors