Nainita Desai is an Emmy-winning composer whose genre-spanning scores have made her a leading voice in contemporary screen music. She has amassed a multitude of awards and nominations, including an Emmy for The Reason I Jump, RTS craft, IFMCA, SCL and World Soundtrack Award Discovery Of The Year wins and numerous nominations from the Ivor Novello, BIFA, Critics’ Choice and Cinema Eye Honors juries.
In 2025 she captured ASCAP’s top video game prize for her score to Tales of Kenzera: Zau and her title theme for the Disney+/AMC fantasy series Nautilus (starring Shazad Latif) earned a nomination for Television Theme of the Year.
Her current slate spans high-profile television dramas, feature documentaries and triple-A video games. Desai has scored the Disney+/AMC/Prime Video adventure series Nautilus, all three seasons of ITV’s crime drama The Tower (starring Gemma Whelan, Jimmy Akinbola) and EA’s acclaimed game Tales of Kenzera: Zau. On the festival circuit she is celebrated for the Sundance craft-winning documentary Nocturnes (Cinema Eye 2025 nominee) and Hulu’s headline-grabbing doc The Contestant.
She has also written for scripted series including BBC One’s Crossfire (starring Keely Hawes), Sky’s Funny Woman (starring Gemma Arterton) and StudioCanal’s feature Something in the Water. Her passion for natural history is evident in landmark series including The Wild Ones (Apple TV+), Earthsounds (Apple TV+), James Cameron’s Ocean Xplorers, National Geographic’s Secrets of the Penguins and Predators (Netflix).
Extended bio
Desai gained international acclaim for her scores to the Oscar-nominated and Bafta/Cannes-winning For Sama, Netflix’s 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible (Primetime Emmy nominated score), Body Parts (Emmy nominated score) and the hit A24/Netflix film The Deepest Breath. She has scored multiple No. 1 Netflix documentaries of the year, from American Murder: The Family Next Door to What Jennifer Did. Her music has been performed by renowned orchestras at festivals including Film Music Krakow, WSA Ghent, MOSMA Malaga, the Camille Awards in Paris, and SXSW London 2025.
Other projects include the recently released solo album Tessellation, created for a large scale permanent installation in California. In the world of interactive storytelling, Desai is celebrated for her collaborations with acclaimed game creator Sam Barlow, scoring the BAFTA-winning interactive movie-games Telling Lies and Immortality, and is currently scoring a multi-year international installation project alongside new AAA franchise games.
PRESS HIGHLIGHTS:
“With footage as raw and dramatic as this, it’s a credit to composer Nainita Desai that her score remains restrained and understated throughout, emphasising subtler themes of endurance and empathy, while gesturing gently toward the possibility of hope – of love – even in the midst of tragedy” THE GUARDIAN Film Review of For Sama.
"..a sensory intensely engaging experience, at once eye-opening, informative, and deeply affecting... ingeniously utilizes the soundscapes of every scene . Voices muffled, humming and vibrations intensify; resonating, euphoric, orchestral blasts accost all of the senses at once.” The Upcoming: The Reason I Jump Review
"..it's all set to a stirring score by Nainita Desai...and never drags even through long sequences of footage.." Vox.Com: American Murder Review
“What could have been a murky journey is instead shaped by an awareness of vast space, varying liquid light and caverns of silence, except when Nainita Desai’s surging, sometimes suitably head-pounding score fills the void.” VARIETY: The Deepest Breath Review
The Deepest Breath is a nerve-shredding experience. The edit gives a spiralling sense of the inevitable, underlined by Nainita Desai’s insistent score… technically, it’s just about flawless… It’s one of the ultimate big-screen experiences that is worth seeking out. SCREEN INTERNATIONAL FILM REVIEW
“A breathtaking documentary, one filled with eye-popping visuals, thrilling competitions and a deftly presented love story. Nainita Desai’s sweeping score drowns out any remaining viewer uncertainty…the craftsmanship is so effective that I was ultimately left with a well-rendered catharsis….a potent and beautiful film”. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: The Deepest Breath Review
Born in London to Indian parents, Desai’s eclectic upbringing led her to study sitar, piano, guitar, tabla, violin, and voice. After earning a degree in mathematics, she trained in sound design at the National Film and Television School, going on to work as a sound designer on feature films including films for Bernardo Bertolucci and Werner Herzog, and as an assistant engineer for Peter Gabriel.
With a strong sense of narrative empathy, Nainita Desai’s music - whether sweeping orchestral fantasy, minimal understated scoring, experimental hand-crafted sound design, or dark, edgy electronics - is always emotionally immersive. Every project has its own unique sonic world, as she fuses custom-built instruments, vintage synths, found sounds, and global influences into scores that are both expansive and intimate, always rooted in the emotional truth of the story. Her approach has led to collaborations with artists from Eivør to the London Contemporary Orchestra, and to documentary-musicals such as the BBC’s City of Dreams.
Beyond composing, Desai is active in industry leadership. A BAFTA Breakthrough, she is an elected member of BAFTA’s Film Committee, the Oscars’ London committee, and the Ivors Academy senate. She co-founded the Oscars’ JGI initiative supporting Black British composers, has mentored on the Amazon and WFTV composer schemes, and holds voting membership in AMPAS, BAFTA, the Emmys, BIFA, and the Recording Academy. She regularly gives masterclasses at institutions and major festivals worldwide, and continues to champion diversity and innovation in screen music.
Awards
Camille Awards 2026
PRE-SELECTION: Best Original Score for a Feature Documentary: MURDER IN MONACO (WINNER TBA)
ASCAP Composer's Choice Awards 2026
NOMINEE: 2025 Documentary Series Score of the Year: SECRETS OF THE PENGUINS (WINNERS TBA)
HMMA 2025
NOMINEE: Score for a Documentary Series - TV/Digital: SECRETS OF THE PENGUINS
Jerry Goldsmith Awards 2025
NOMINEE: Best Score for a Videogame: TALES OF KENZERA: ZAU
Music + Sound Awards 2025
NOMINEE: Best Original Composition in a TV Series or Programme: SECRETS OF THE PENGUINS
Green Screen Film Festival 2025
NOMINEE: Best Score: EARTHSOUNDS - 'THE PACIFIC' (Winners TBA)
Develop:Star Awards
NOMINEE: Best Audio/Music: TALES OF KENZERA: ZAU
ASCAP Composers' Choice Awards 2025
WINNER: Video Game Score Of The Year: TALES OF KENZERA: ZAU
NOMINEE: Television Theme Of The Year: NAUTILUS
SCL Awards 2025
NOMINEE: Outstanding Original Score For Interactive Media: TALES OF KENZERA: ZAU
G.A.N.G. Awards 2024
NOMINEE: Best Music For An Indie Game: TALES OF KENZERA: ZAU
NOMINEE: Best Original Soundtrack Album: TALES OF KENZERA: ZAU
NOMINEE: Music Of The Year: TALES OF KENZERA: ZAU
NOMINEE: Best Audio For An Indie Game: TALES OF KENZERA: ZAU
Cinema Eye Honors 2024
NOMINEE: Original Score: NOCTURNES
Music + Sound Awards 2024
NOMINEE: Best Original Composition in a Feature Length Documentary & Best Original Composition in Film + TV Titles: THE DEEPEST BREATH
NOMINEE: Best Original Composition In A Video Game Trailer: TALES OF KENZERA: ZAU
World Soundtrack Awards 2024
NOMINEE: Game Music Award: TALES OF KENZERA: ZAU
Critics Choice Awards 2024
NOMINEE: Best Documentary Score: THE DEEPEST BREATH
Camille Awards 2024
NOMINEE: Best Documentary Score: THE DEEPEST BREATH
Music and Sound Awards 2023
WINNER: Best Original Title Theme: CROSSFIRE
World Soundtrack Awards 2023
NOMINEE: Video Game Music Award for Best Score : IMMORTALITY
SCL, 2xGANG, Develop, ASCAP Composer Choice Awards, MPSE Golden Reel Awards 2022/2023
NOMINEE: Best Original Score for a Video Game: IMMORTALITY
EMMY 2023: Documentary
NOMINEE: Best Original Score for a Documentary: BODY PARTS
EMMY 2022: Documentary
WINNER: Best Original Score for a Documentary: THE REASON I JUMP
Women in Film & TV Awards 2022
Gravity Media Award For Creative Technology
Televisual Bull Dog Awards 2022
NOMINEE: Best Music: 14 PEAKS: NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE
Primetime Emmy 2022
NOMINEE: Outstanding Music Composition for a documentary (original dramatic score): 14 PEAKS: NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE
Fimucite: Tenerife Intl Film Music Festival 2022
WINNER: Best Score For A Feature Documentary: 14 PEAKS: NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE
World Soundtrack Awards 2022
NOMINEE: Public Choice Award: 14 PEAKS NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE
ASCAP Composer Choice Awards 2022
NOMINEE: Best Original Documentary Score: 14 PEAKS NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE
Camille Awards 2022: European Composer Awards
WINNER: Best Score for a Feature Documentary: THE REASON I JUMP
Girls On Film Podcast 2022
Film Composer Of The Year
World Soundtrack Awards 2021
WINNER: Discovery Of The Year
Ivor Novello Awards 2020
NOMINEE: Best Original Film Score: FOR SAMA
RTS Craft Awards 2020
WINNER: Best Original Score: FOR SAMA
BIFA Film Awards 2020
NOMINEE: Best Music: THE REASON I JUMP
Cinema Eye Honors 2020
NOMINEE: Outstanding Achievement in Original Score: THE REASON I JUMP
IFMCA Awards 2020
WINNER: Breakthrough Composer of the Year
NOMINEE: Best Documentary Score: UNTAMED ROMANIA
BIFA 2019
NOMINEE: Best Film Score: FOR SAMA
Music + Sound Awards 2019
WINNER: Best Original Music for a Video Game Trailer: TELLING LIES
NOMINEE: Best Original Music for a TV Programme Titles: EXTRAORDINARY RITUALS
NOMINEE: Best Sound Design for a Short Film: SLEEPER
HMMA 2019
NOMINEE: Best Score for a Video Game Trailer: TELLING LIES
MCR Develop Awards 2019
NOMINEE: Audio Innovation: TELLING LIES
RTS Craft Awards 2019
NOMINEE: Best Music Original Titles: EXTRAORDINARY RITUALS
Jerry Goldsmiths Awards 2019
NOMINEE: Best Documentary Score: EXTRAORDINARY RITUALS
GOPO: Romanian Film Awards 2019
NOMINEE: Best Film Score: UNTAMED ROMANIA
Naturvision Film Festival 2019
WINNER: Best Film Score: UNTAMED ROMANIA
Asian Women Of Achievement Awards 2019
NOMINEE: Arts+Culture Award
Asian Achievers Awards 2017
NOMINEE: Contribution to Arts+Culture
Music + Sound Awards 2016
WINNER: Best Original Film Score: THE CONFESSIONS OF THOMAS QUICK
BAFTA Awards 2016
WINNER: Breakthrough Brit
RTS Awards 2013
NOMINEE: Best Music: THE DAY KENNEDY DIED
Music + Sound Awards 2013
NOMINEE: Best Music For A Short Film: CHECKPOST
Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival 2004
WINNER: Best Achievement In Sound: WILD BATTLEFIELDS (SHARK BATTLEFIELDS)
Missoula Wildlife Film Festival 2004
WINNER: Best Music Merit Award: NATURAL WORLD - A MOOSE NAMED MADELINE
Lucania Film Festival 2004
WINNER: Best Music: LITTLE TERRORIST [SHORT FILM]
Annecy International Film Festival 1994
WINNER: Best Sound Design & Music: THE OCCASION [SHORT FILM]
Talks & events
EDITH BOWMAN: SOUNDTRACKING PODCAST 2022
BBC RADIO 3: SOUND OF GAMING 2022
BAFTA GURU LIVE Nov 2020
BAFTA Panel Talk about Storytelling in FiIm, TV and Games
British Council 2020
Envision Sound: Ukraine-UK programme of mentoring and masterclasses
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – ASA Music Conference October 2019
Masterclass on music for film & TV
LA Comic Con – October 2019
Panel on Video Games Music
Open City Documentary Film Festival 2019 September
Masterclass on music for documentaries
Sound on Sound
Podcast Interview Oct 2020
Soundtrack Cologne 2020
Guest Interviewee Oct 20