With his latest cinematic project, Raman Nimmala ’18 completes his pivot from success as a cross asset valuation analyst to rising star as a filmmaker. His latest film, O’Sey Balamma, was accepted into the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, launching his creative career on a very high note.
Raman Nimmala ’18 is a man of many talents.
“I have always been interested in the arts in an observational way,” Nimmala says. “Even when I was immersed in STEM projects in high school, I would try to somehow build in a film component. I also played drums in the school’s band.”
Still, Nimmala planned to major in finance, business or computer science in college. “My dad is a computer engineer, and all of my friends were on tech-related tracks,” he says. “It never even occurred to me to study the humanities. And then I learned about Stevens from one of my bandmates.”
“The quantitative finance major at Stevens was pretty new at the time,” Nimmala continues. “I liked the way it approached finance. I was also excited at the prospect of being so close to New York City. I could take advantage of the cultural life there — film, theater, art and music.”
Nimmala gravitated to the quantitative finance program in part because he was not completely sure about what he wanted to do with his education. “When you’re not sure, it’s good to have something concrete to focus on,” he explains. “The quantitative finance program required my full attention. That was what I needed at that point in my life.”
Nimmala became absorbed in what he was learning. “Finance is a particular lens for viewing the world,” he says, noting that he was also part of the intense, and highly competitive, Stevens Student Managed Investment Fund (SSMIF) program. “Finance teaches you how the world operates.”
Nimmala’s experience as a SSMIF macroeconomic portfolio manager as well as analyst internships — made available with help from Stevens alumni — at SumRidge Partners and Millennium Management prepared him for a fast track in the field. After graduation he joined the valuation analytics team at Millennium Management.
“I was very focused on getting a job and living in New York City,” Nimmala says. “Of course, Stevens makes it easy to do that by connecting you with so many opportunities. It was a very exciting time for me, personally and professionally.”
Working at Millennium Management exposed Nimmala to talented people who are passionate about their work. “I had wonderful mentors,” he says. “I was doing well in my job and progressing there, but I couldn’t help wondering if I was on the right path. My mentors encouraged me to think about what I really wanted to do, even if it was outside of the finance field.”
Nimmala had already been exploring filmmaking. “I would spend my free time on film sets with students who were in programs at New York University and Columbia,” he recalls. “I began to see the thought process that went into their projects. I was encouraged to try it myself. I saw how I could apply the structured frameworks I learned at Stevens to creating films.”
Transitioning from finance to filmmaking would mean a complete career pivot for Nimmala. He enrolled in Columbia University’s MFA program in film and creative producing. In 2026, he finished his degree just in time to see his 13-minute film, O’Sey Balamma, accepted into the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. The film, which takes place during Sankranti festival celebrations, explores the relationship between a matriarch and her housekeeper. The story was inspired by the time he spent with his grandmother during family visits to India. As it turns out, he was in India when the Sundance announcement was released.
“My family loves films,” he says. “We went to the movies all the time. They came to the festival to watch O’Sey Balamma for the first time. There was a huge and diverse audience, lots of industry professionals were there. And there I was on stage for a question-and-answer session. It was really exciting.”
O’Sey Balamma will not be available to the general public until 2027. In the meantime, Nimmala is already working on his next feature. It will be shot in India, but he has no plans to abandon his Stevens connections. “Before the pandemic I attended SSMIF reunion events whenever I could,” he says. “These days, though, I’m traveling a lot. Fortunately, I’ve been able to connect with other Stevens alumni in the film industry. In fact, one of my collaborators is a music and technology graduate from Stevens.”
“Stevens is a great place to develop a serious, forward-thinking mindset about your career and where to go next,” Nimmala adds. “Even if you need to reevaluate your path, as I did, you will still benefit from what you learned at Stevens.”
