Nainita Desai
Composer
Acclaimed with an Emmy, RTS, and World Soundtrack Award for Discovery of the Year, Nainita Desai has also been nominated for an Ivor Novello, and is a double BIFA, Critics Choice, Develop, GANG, and Cinema Eye Honors nominee.
Amongst her work on various BAFTA, Academy Award, and Emmy acclaimed productions, Nainita’s current projects include Secrets Of The Penguins for Disney+, Nautilus the epic fantasy adventure series for Amazon/Disney/ AMC, ITV Drama The Tower (seasons 1-3) and critically acclaimed EA Originals video game Tales of Kenzera: Zau for which Nainita has earned an ASCAP Composer Choice award, SCL and numerous GANG nominations for Best Video Game score of the Year.
Other notable scripted series include the BBC action thriller Crossfire, SKY drama Funny Woman and feature film Something In The Water for Studiocanal.
Recent projects include James Cameron’s Ocean Xplorers, and the hit Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible for which she earned a Primetime Emmy nomination. Her notable feature credits include Oscar nominated and BAFTA and Cannes winning For Sama, the Sundance winning film The Reason I Jump, Sundance Craft Award winning feature doc Nocturnes, The Contestant for Hulu, the Emmy nominated score for BBC / Starz film Body Parts and The Deepest Breath (A24, Netflix).
Nainita has also scored recent landmark natural history series The Wild Ones, Earthsounds and Predators for Apple TV+, SKY and Netflix.
2024 projects included the iconic Call of Duty video game franchise and her 2025 projects extend to large scale installations, AAA video games for Sam Barlow-Blumhouse, Ubisoft and Sony IE, Immersive projects for the Apple Pro-Vision Headset, and feature documentaries for Netflix, Universal and series for SKY.
Following a degree in Maths and studying sound for film at the NFTS in the UK, Nainita began her career as a sound designer on feature films for directors such as Werner Herzog and Bertolucci, as well as assistant music engineering for Peter Gabriel. Nainita moves seamlessly between working with orchestras, to scores utilizing her collection of custom-made instruments, incorporating electronics, found sounds, and sound design which has informed her experimental and deeply immersive approach to scoring.
Nainita Desai is speaking at the following session/s
Playing The Long Game: How Composers Can Build Sustainable Careers
In 2025, video game composers are enjoying unprecedented recognition, with their music reaching millions of listeners, enjoying lavish vinyl releases and being incorporated into TV and film adaptations. But behind the success stories lies a more complex question: how can composers turn creative momentum into long-term, sustainable careers?
Join award-winning composer Nainita Desai (Immortality, Tales of Kenzera: Zau), synthwave icon Alpha Chrome Yayo (Promise Mascot Agency), and PRS’s Graham Best for a candid conversation about the real-world challenges and opportunities in scoring for games.
Whether you’re just starting out or scaling up, this panel explores what it takes to build staying power in a rapidly evolving industry.
Session Takeaway
- Pitching and negotiation
How composers at different career stages approach deals with developers and publishers. - Creative collaboration
What to expect when working with indie vs. AAA studios, and how scoring for games differs from film and TV. - Revenue realities
A breakdown of income streams available to game composers. - Career sustainability
Lessons from the long haul: staying creative, relevant and financially stable in a competitive field.
Session speakers
