Alizeh Imtiaz (born 10 November 1986, in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

) is the a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

filmmaker. She's the first Pakistani to have successfully had a debut short film screened at the London Filmmakers Convention. Her film, ''Shades of Black'' was screened at the convention in 2007. The short film won the award for Best Film at the London Filmmakers Convention and was also screened at the London

Portobello Film Festival The Portobello Film Festival is an independent international film festival based in London, which annually premiers over 700 new films, including feature films, features, short films, shorts, documentaries, music films, and animation. Additionall ...

in August 2008. She is one of the youngest directors in Pakistan, and one of the very few to have gained international acclaim. Imtiaz completed her BA in English and Film and TV Studies from

Brunel University Brunel University of London (BUL) is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. It became a university ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She's currently serving as a trustee on the board of DSRA Schools for the underprivileged. The short film, ''Shades of Black'', was an experimental piece which focused on the journey of a prisoner released from

Karachi Central Jail Central Jail Karachi, also known as Central Prison Karachi, is a prison in the city of Karachi in Sindh, Pakistan. It houses more than 4800 prisoners including convicted terrorists that include militants who attempted to assassinate President of ...

. Her style is very dependent on detail to music and photography. The film, produced by Media Tech Films, for

AAG TV Jang Media Group (), also known as Geo Group, is a Pakistani media conglomerate and a subsidiary of Dubai-based company Independent Media Corporation. It has headquarters in Printing House, Karachi. It is the publisher of the Urdu language new ...

, gained much attention after Alizeh appeared on one of

's most famous comedy talk show called 'Azfar Mani show'. Her previous experience in direction include a high-profile celebrity based TV show called 'FLASH' for

HUM TV Hum TV HD is a 24-hour Urdu general entertainment TV channel based in Karachi, Pakistan. It was founded by Sultana Siddiqui and Duraid Qureshi. It is owned by Hum Network Limited and traded on the Pakistan Stock Exchange as (HUMNL). Hum Net ...

channel in Pakistan which she directed before returning to complete her degree. Before her venture into direction, Alizeh Imtiaz had also been active in several theatre productions in

; from acting to direction. Alizeh has attended several workshops to aid her acting talent, from the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

, London and has also been trained in acting by

Rahat Kazmi Rahat Kazmi () is a Pakistani actor, screenwriter, TV news presenter anchorman, and an academician. He has worked in several TV serials for PTV such as in 1967 with ''Mayaar'', rose to prominence in 1974 with ''Qurbatain aur Faaslay'' (an ad ...

, a famous Pakistani actor, director, teacher and theatric. In 2010, when Pakistan was deeply affected by the flooding on the Indus River, Alizeh along with a team of people travelled across the Province of Sindh and rehabilitated flood affectees suffering from the devastation. CNN shared Alizeh's photographs of her trips, and in 2011 one of her photographs was among the top five in photojournalism iReport on the CNN website.

Sources

Portobello Film Festival

Pakistani film directors 1986 births Living people Alumni of Brunel University London {{Pakistan-film-director-stub