Shamim Sarif

Sarif was born in London, England, to Indian parents who had left South Africa in the early 1960s to escape apartheid.[1][2] She studied English literature at the University of London, then took a Master's in English at Boston University.[1]

Sarif's fifth feature film, indie drama Polarized, was shot in Manitoba. She is a writer and a director with titles including The World Unseen (2001),[3] (selected for TIFF) and Despite the Falling Snow (starring Rebecca Ferguson and Charles Dance). Her debut feature I Can't Think Straight earned her a notice from the Los Angeles Times as a "filmmaker of exceptional promise".

Moonshine (eOne) Diggstown (CBC/Fox) and SkyMed (Paramount Plus). Her latest books, The Shadow Mission and The Athena Protocol (HarperCollins) are being developed as a series with Village Roadshow and Gran Via Productions.

Sarif has spoken at TED events worldwide, at the INK Conference in India and DLD in Munich. Corporate speaking events have included Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, Citibank and Disney.

Shamim was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2019. She is also a member of BAFTA, the WGA, the Directors Guild of Canada and the Canadian Media Producers Association.

In January 2001, Sarif co-founded a multi-media entertainment company based in London and in partnership between her spouse, producer Hanan Kattan, called Enlightenment Productions.

Her roots inspired her to write her debut novel, The World Unseen (2001),[3] which explores issues of race, gender and sexuality, which she later adapted into a film starring Lisa Ray and Sheetal Sheth. It was heavily inspired by the stories of Sarif's grandmother and the family's Indian and South African heritage.[4]

She has also adapted and directed a film based on her book I Can't Think Straight.[2][5]

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.[6]

• Her debut novel, The World Unseen (2001), won the Pendleton May First Novel Award and a Betty Trask Award.[7][8]
• The World Unseen won the Authence Award at the Miami Gay & Lesbian film festival in 2008,[9] and the Best Feature Film award at the Paris Lesbian and Feminist Film Festival
• I Can't Think Straight won the Authence Award at the Miami Gay & Lesbian film festival in 2009[9]
• She is the recipient of Best Director awards for The World Unseen film from the South African Film and Television Awards,[10][11][12][13] the Phoenix Film Festival[14][15] and the Clip (Tampa) Festival.
• The House of Tomorrow, winner of Documentary Audience Award at the Festival Regards Sur Le Cinema Du Monde 2014 in Rouen (France)
• Despite The Falling Snow has won 13 awards to date including 3 at Milan International Film Festival,[16] 3 at Prague International Film Festival,[17] and others at Canada,[18] Buffalo Niagara,[19] Soho, Manchester[20] and Orlando International Film Festivals
• Enlightenment Productions were Winner of the Kingston Business Excellence Awards 2014, Best Creative and Media Sector Business.[21]

Sarif's background was in her family's financial business for 10 years before becoming a full-time novelist and film director.[22]

Sarif, who claims Muslim origins, is openly lesbian and described I Can't Think Straight to be semi-autobiographical.[2][23] She has stated that Jeanette Winterson's The Passion is one of her favorite books.[24]

On 23 September 2015, she married producer Hanan Kattan in London after being together for nearly 20 years.[25]

• The World Unseen (2001)
• Despite the Falling Snow (2004)
• I Can't Think Straight (2008)
• The Athena Control (2020)
• The Shadow Mission (2020)

• List of Indian women film directors
• List of Indian women screenwriters
• List of female film and television directors
• List of lesbian filmmakers
• List of LGBT-related films directed by women

• Shamim Sarif at IMDb
• Official website