Shamim Sarif | |
---|---|
Born | London, England, United Kingdom | 24 September 1969
Occupation(s) | Novelist, film director, screenwriter |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
Website | https://www.shamimsarif.com/ |
Shamim Sarif (born 24 September 1969) is a British novelist, screenwriter, and film director of South Asian and South African heritage. Sarif is best known for her work in writing and directing films with themes that often explore issues of identity and cultural diversity.
Sarif was born in London to Indian parents who had emigrated from South Africa in the early 1960s to escape apartheid. [1] [2] She studied English literature at Royal Holloway, University of London and later completed a Master's degree in English at Boston University. [1]
Sarif's debut novel, The World Unseen (2001), won a Betty Trask Award in 2002 [3] and the Pendleton May First Novel Award [ citation needed ]. The novel explores issues of race, gender and sexuality and was heavily inspired by the stories of Sarif's grandmother and her Indian and South African heritage. [4]
Sarif has adapted and directed the films of three of her novels including The World Unseen (2001), which was selected for the Toronto International Film Festival, I Can't Think Straight (2008), and Despite the Falling Snow (2016). [5] [6]
Her 2011 film The House of Tomorrow is a documentary about the 2010 TEDx Holy Land Conference, which brought together Arab and Israeli women to discuss issues of mutual interest in technology, entertainment, and design. [7]
Her latest books, The Athena Protocol (2019) and The Shadow Mission (The Athena Protocol #2) (2020), represent a departure from her more familiar themes of romance and LGBTQ+ relationships, as it falls into the action-adventure and espionage genre. [8]
Sarif and her wife founded the production company Enlightenment Productions. [6]
in 2019 Sarif was invited to join the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. [9]
In 2023 she directed an episode of the Netflix series You . [10]
Identifying as having Muslim roots, Sarif is lesbian, and she has mentioned that her work on I Can't Think Straight is semi-autobiographical in nature. [2] She is married to film producer Hanan Kattan and the couple have two sons. [11]
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | The World Unseen | Yes | Yes | Feature films Based on Sarif's novel |
2008 | I Can't Think Straight | Yes | Yes | |
2011 | The House of Tomorrow | Yes | Yes | Documentary film |
2016 | Despite the Falling Snow | Yes | Yes | Feature film Also based on Sarif's novel |
2020 | Murdoch Mysteries | Yes | No | TV series Episode "Rigid Silence" |
2021 | A Woman on Fire | Yes | No | TV film |
Diggstown | Yes | No | TV series Episode "Christian Spry" | |
2022 | SkyMed | Yes | No | TV series Directed 2 episodes |
2023 | Polarized | Yes | Yes | Feature film Also producer |
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The World Unseen is a 2007 historical drama film, written and directed by Shamim Sarif, adapted from her own novel. The film is set in 1950s Cape Town, South Africa during the beginning of apartheid. The film stars Lisa Ray and Sheetal Sheth as two Indian South African women who fall in love in a racist, sexist, and homophobic society.
I Can't Think Straight is a 2008 British romantic drama film directed by Shamim Sarif. Based on Sarif's 2008 novel of the same name, the film tells the story of a London-based Jordanian of Palestinian descent, Tala, who is preparing for an elaborate wedding when a turn of events causes her to have an affair, and subsequently fall in love, with another woman, Leyla, a British Indian. The film stars Lisa Ray and Sheetal Sheth.
Hanan Fuad Tewfic Kattan is a Jordanian-born, British-based film producer of Palestinian origin. She is also co-owner of multi-media entertainment company Enlightenment Productions.
Despite the Falling Snow is a 2004 book by Shamim Sarif. It was first published on May 4, 2004 through Headline Book Publishing and is set during two different time periods. One part of the story is set in 1950s Moscow, Russia during the Cold War years, while the other follows the story of 1992 Moscow and London in the period after the collapse of USSR.
Enlightenment Productions is multi-media entertainment company based in London and founded in partnership between producer Hanan Kattan and writer and director Shamim Sarif in 2001.
Despite the Falling Snow is a 2016 British Cold War espionage film directed by Shamim Sarif, adapted from her novel of the same name. Starring Rebecca Ferguson, Sam Reid, Charles Dance, Antje Traue, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Thure Lindhardt and Anthony Head, the film was released in the United Kingdom on 15 April 2016.
The Athena Film Festival is an annual film festival held at Barnard College of Columbia University in New York City. The festival takes place in February and focuses on films celebrating women and leadership. In addition to showing films, the festival hosts filmmaker workshops, master classes and panels on a variety of topics relevant to women in the film industry. The Athena Film Festival was co-founded by Kathryn Kolbert, Founding Director of the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College and Melissa Silverstein, founder of the Women and Hollywood initiative and the festival's Artistic Director.
I Can't Think Straight is a 2008 novel by Shamim Sarif. Sarif directed a 2008 film of the same name. The novel and film are semi-autobiographical.
The World Unseen is a 2001 novel written by Shamim Sarif.
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