Shamim Sarif

Shamim Sarif
Born	September 24, 1969 London, England
Occupation	Novelist, filmmaker
Spouse(s)	Hanan Kattan (m. 2015)
Children	2

Shamim Sarif (born September 24, 1969) is a British novelist and filmmaker of South Asian and South African heritage.

Early life and education

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 London University, then took a Masters in English at Boston University.^[1]

Career

Her roots inspired her to write her debut novel, The World Unseen,^[3] which explores issues of race, gender and sexuality, which she later adapted into a film starring Lisa Ray and Sheetal Sheth. The novel won the Pendleton May First Novel Award and a Betty Trask Award.^[4][5] She has also adapted and directed a film based on her book I Can't Think Straight.^[2][6]

She is the recipient of Best Director awards for The World Unseen film from the South African Film and Television Awards,^{[7][8][9][10]} the Phoenix Film Festival^[11][12] and the Clip (Tampa) Festival.

Her 2011 film, The House of Tomorrow, winner of Documentary Audience Award at the Festival Regards Sur Le Cinema Du Monde 2014 in Rouen (France), 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.^[13]

At Cannes Festival^[14] 2013 Enlightenment Productions announced their new film Despite The Falling Snow.^[15] The film starring Mission Impossible 5 Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson,^{[16][17][18][19]} Game of Thrones actor Charles Dance, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Antje Traue, Sam Reid, Anthony Head and Trudie Styler, is due to be released in 2015. On the 14th September 2014 Enlightenment Productions was announced as one of the finalists for Breaking the Mould Award, a prize aimed to promote and enhance the role of women in business.^[20]

Enlightenment Productions were Winner of the Kingston Business Excellence Awards 2014, Best Creative and Media Sector Business.^[21]

Personal life

Sarif is openly lesbian and described I Can't Think Straight to be semi-autographical.^[2] On September 23, 2015, she married producer Hanan Kattan at the Chelsea Registry Office in London, after nearly 20 years together.^[22] They have two sons, Ethan (b.1999) and Luca (b.2002).^[1][23][24]

Feature films

• The World Unseen (2007)
• I Can't Think Straight (2008)
• Despite the Falling Snow (2015)

Documentaries

• The House of Tomorrow (2011)

Books

• The World Unseen. The Women's Press Limited. 2001. ISBN 978-0-7043-4712-0.

• Die verborgene Welt. Berlin: Verlag Krug & Schadenberg. 2007. ISBN 978-3-930041-60-2.

• Despite the Falling Snow. Headline Book Publishing. 2004. ISBN 978-0-7553-0867-5. External link in |publisher= (help)

• Das Leben, von dem sie träumten. Berlin: Verlag Krug & Schadenberg. 2010. ISBN 978-3-930041-69-5.

• I Can't Think Straight. Enlightenment Production Limited. 2010. ISBN 978-0-9560316-1-7.
• Wrote the Book, Made the Movie, Raised the Kids, Now the Blog... Enlightenment Press. 2010. ISBN 978-0-9560-3164-8.

References

^{[25][26][27][28][29][30][31] [32] [33] [34]} Shamim Sarif's Top 10 Film To Book Adaptations Exclusive: Go Behind the Scenes of ‘Despite The Falling Snow’ in new Featurette BOOK REVIEWS: 1 APRIL nudge list April 2016: Despite the Falling Snow by Shamin Sarif ‘Sarif’s Russia is the devil’s black hole of hell’ Despite The Falling Snow by Shamim Sarif Despite The Falling Snow by Shamim Sarif – Book Review Shamim Sarif's Top 10 Book to Ffilm Adaptations

1. "Just another British, Indian, Muslim, Arab, Christian lesbian romantic comedy". Evening Standard.
2. Rachael Scott, "Having a gay old time: Novelist turned film-maker Shamim Sarif has two films, both based on her books, coming out tomorrow. She tells Rachael Scott how this one-two punch came about." The Guardian, 2 April 2009.
3. http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_world_unseen.html?id=K0tbAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y
4. Billy Suter, "Love in apartheid SA", The Mercury (South Africa), September 12, 2008  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
5. Candice Soobramoney, "Shamim on lesbian love flick", Post (South Africa), August 6, 2008  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
6. "Changing lives in little steps", Independent Online (South Africa), 12 February 2009.
7. "Unusual film sweeps Saftas; Janet van Eeden talks to the writer and director of The World Unseen, a film that highlights the plight of Indian women under apartheid.", The Sunday Independent, 15 February 2009  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
8. "Apartheid era love story The World Unseen scoops 11 Saftas", The Witness, 22 February 2009.
9. "SAFTA Awards".
10. http://www.tvsa.co.za/showinfo.asp?showid=3260
11. http://web.archive.org/web/20120219092440/http://phoenixfilmfestival.org/pages/story-view.php?id=418. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2013. Missing or empty |title= (help)
12. "Movie Reviews: First week of Lesbian & Gay Film Festival is rich with diversity", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 16, 2008.
13. Billy Cox, "‘House of Tomorrow’ infused with excitement and optimism", Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 16 April 2012.
14. http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/cannes/kurylenko-furtwangler-fall-for-snow/5056295.article
15. Despite the Falling Snow. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2474932/news
16. 6 Sales Takes Rebecca Ferguson-Starrer ‘Snow’. Retrieved from http://variety.com/2015/film/global/six-sales-rebecca-ferguson-despite-the-falling-snow-1201479102/
17. Rebecca Ferguson. Retrieved from http://variety.com/t/rebecca-ferguson/
18. Rebecca Ferguson describes her big leap into 'Mission: Impossible'. Retrieved from http://www.mercurynews.com/movies/ci_28578922/rebecca-ferguson-describes-her-big-leap-into-mission
19. Mission: Impossible 5 Has Found Its New Female Lead. Retrieved from http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Mission-Impossible-5-Has-Found-Its-Female-Lead-43820.html
20. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/smallbusiness/article-2754720/Breaking-Mould-Awards-Finalists-revealed-prizes-backing-female-bosses.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490
21. "2014 WINNERS". Kingston Business Excellence Awards 2014.
22. "We just got married!".
23. "Our son Ethan's 13th birthday today". Twitter.
24. "Our Luca turns 13". Twitter.
25. "Rebecca Ferguson thriller gets new sales home". www.screendaily.com. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
26. Hackwill, Robert. "Shamim Sarif brings her novel “Despite the Falling Snow” to the screen". euronews. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
27. Metro.co.uk, Adam Starkey for. "Rebecca Ferguson wants to play a ‘crack pimping whore’ as much as a Marvel hero". Metro. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
28. "Diary News". us2.campaign-archive1.com. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
29. "Girl On The Train Actress Rebecca Ferguson: 'I Was Thinking, God, What Have I Done?!'". The Debrief. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
30. "Spy film Despite the Falling Snow hits screens". africanews.channel. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
31. Producers Lab Toronto unveils 2015 line-up
32. 6TH PRODUCERS LAB TORONTO JUST KICKED OFF
33. Captain Marvel: Rebecca Ferguson Rumored To Be Top Contender
34. Producers Lab Toronto a Success at TIFF 2015

External links^[1]

• ^[2][3]Shamim Sarif at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website
• http://www.torontosun.com/2016/01/15/girl-on-the-train-and-other-books-to-read-before-the-movie-comes-out-in-2016

1. "Spy film Despite the Falling Snow hits screens". africanews.channel. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
2. Pape, Stefan. "Exclusive: A Fun Rebecca Ferguson on Despite the Falling Snow, Charles Dance and Flamingo Parties". HeyUGuys. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
3. Pape, Stefan. "Exclusive: A Fun Rebecca Ferguson on Despite the Falling Snow, Charles Dance and Flamingo Parties". HeyUGuys. Retrieved 2016-04-15.