Biography Pratibha Parmar

1 biography

1.1 life
1.2 career
1.3 reaching broader audience

biography
early life

parmar born in nairobi, kenya. family moved britain, grew up. received b.a. bradford university , attended birmingham university postgraduate studies @ cultural studies centre.

the parmar family emigrated india east africa during time of british empire. parmar s family migrated london, england, part of mass exodus east africa of east african asians , british media termed group @ time. parmar s work imbued strong identification working-class roots , worldview influenced family status three-time immigrants on 3 continents. sensitivity colonization of others firmly rooted in own heritage part of people persecuted class, race , sex. examines intersection of 3 in work both filmmaker , writer.

pratibha precocious , showed talent in scholastic matters , had avid interest in social justice. attended university of bradford, earning b.a. honours in human purposes , communications. while @ university, parmar took leadership positions in student politics. chair of anti-fascist committee, organized various actions against local fascist groups including marches, fundraisers , rock against racism concerts. interested in working women , spent 3 months in calcutta working mother teresa. parmar stayed year in india teaching basic literacy skills children in village projects in uttar pradesh (north india) , kerala (in south).

after completing undergraduate degree, parmar did post-graduate studies @ university of birmingham s centre contemporary cultural studies. while there, co-wrote , co-edited groundbreaking book empire strikes – race , racism in 1970s britain (1982). book, co-authored paul gilroy , valerie amos among others, challenged then-current academic paradigm of race , race relations problems embedded in communities of colour rather problems within society , institutions creating, codifying , enforcing racism. empire strikes 1 of first texts authored black , asian writers questioning theory expressed , (re)enforced in academic literature in 1970s , 80s.

during 1980s, parmar worked sheba feminist press editor , publisher. sheba british press publish writers such african-american poet audre lorde.

after graduation university, parmar worked youth , community worker young south asian women. in environment discovered power of mass media change , challenge stereotypes of minority people. decided learn tools of filmmaking. subsequently, asked work researcher/consultant on pioneering documentary series newly formed channel 4 in britain profiling black , asian communities in uk.

early career

pratibha parmar began filmmaking career working in documentary. aesthetically, reworking parmar offered film world of definition of poetry in relationship cinema marked signature. emergence (1986) , sari red (1988) both raised awareness black , third world women s artistic sensibility in regard london city streets.

with khush (1991), parmar examined erotic world of south asian queers. khush means ecstatic pleasure in urdu. south asian lesbians , gay men in britain, north america, , india, term captures blissful intricacies of being queer , of colour. inspiring testimonies bridge geographical differences locate shared experiences of isolation , exoticisation unremitting joys , solidarity of being khush.

the release of place of rage (1991), documentary african-american women s role in civil rights movement, marked critical turning point in parmar s career. film named best historical documentary national black programming consortium in u.s. , received broad international critical acclaim. other documentary credits include righteous babes , brimful of asia. drama credits include sita gita, wavelengths , memsahib rita.

reaching broader audience

parmar s debut feature film, nina s heavenly delights, saw theatrical release in mainstream theatres across united kingdom on 2006 , united states in 2007. film won wolfe award best feature film @ fresno film festival along best feature film @ cineffable (france) , best international feature film @ tampa international gay & lesbian film festival. since then, interests have diversified within filmmaking realm , parmar pursuing universal topics eye trending toward broader audience. part of impetus nature of increased global awareness , evolving tolerance of, acceptance , interest in women s , queers rights. however, parmar s works retain trademark heightened political consciousness, artistic edge , inventive , inspired storytelling.

parmar has been board member , active member of women in film , television (uk), directors guild of great britain, , bafta voting member. in 2001, founded kali films, film , television production company creating feature films, documentaries , music videos. company works material , subject matter entertaining, thought provoking, intelligent , aesthetically stunning.

parmar s films continue screen sold-out shows internationally. through kali films, working on several projects including diversity in motion, short documentary showcasing selected children living in 5 2012 olympic boroughs, , windows our world – creative director , consultant di fie foe, enabling production of 7 student-led short videos welcoming world 2012 olympics project.

in may 2011, parmar began shooting documentary called beauty in truth life of alice walker.