Nashen Moodley is in his tenth year as Festival Director of Sydney Film Festival (SFF). During his tenure, Sydney Film Festival has grown vastly. In 2019, the Festival program expanded from 129 to 307 features and documentaries, and from 42 to 55 different countries. Audience increased 63% from 115,000 in 2012 to a record high of 188,000 in 2019.

Moodley’s career in film programming has encompassed many leadership roles, including Manager and Head of Programming at South Africa’s longest-running film festival, the Durban International Film Festival (2001–2011) and as a Programming Consultant for Dubai International Film Festival (2005–2017). During Moodley’s 11 years at Durban International Film Festival, he dramatically increased its content and reach. He also raised the profile of the African film industry by establishing the Durban FilmMart, a program that provides African filmmakers with the opportunity to pitch film projects to leading financiers.

He has been a jury member at various film festivals worldwide, including San Sebastián, Busan, Toronto, Rotterdam, El Gouna, Durban and Tokyo film festivals.
Born in South Africa in 1978, Moodley studied English and philosophy at the University of Natal and worked as a journalist before turning to film programming. His film writing and criticism has appeared in newspapers and magazines including The Guardian, GQ, the Sunday Tribune (South Africa), the Sunday Independent (South Africa), and Mail & Guardian (South Africa).