Suroosh Alvi (; born ) is a Canadian journalist and filmmaker. He is the co-founder of

Vice Media Vice Media Group LLC is a Canadian-American digital media and broadcasting company. Vice Media encompasses four main business areas: Vice Studios Group (film and TV production); Vice TV (a joint venture with A&E Networks, also known as Vicelan ...

, a digital media and broadcasting brand that operates in more than 50 countries. Alvi is a travelled journalist and an executive producer of film, covering

youth culture Youth culture refers to the societal norms of children, adolescents, and young adults. Specifically, it comprises the processes and symbolic systems that are shared by the youth and are distinct from those of adults in the community. An emphasis ...

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...

, and

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

globally. He has hosted and produced documentaries investigating controversial issues, armed conflicts, movements, and subcultures, including conflict minerals in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

, the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

, the takeover of Gaza by Hamas in the

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about Territory, land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation ...

, and the rise of the

Pakistani Taliban The Pakistani Taliban, officially the Tehreek-i-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current ...

and global terrorism. Originally covering Montreal's alternative culture scene, VICE has expanded to include a network of digital properties, including , , , and as well as a cable and OTT network, a

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

, an in-house

creative services Creative services are a subsector of the creative industries, a part of the economy that creates wealth by offering creativity for hire to other businesses. Creative Services also means a department within a company that does creative work such a ...

agency and a book publishing division. Today, VICE produces dozens of original video series, covering news, travel, music, arts, fashion and food, and has a network of correspondents and bureaus. As a journalist, Alvi has reported for VICE on HBO and

VICE News Vice News (stylized as VICE News) is Vice Media's alternative current affairs channel, producing daily documentary essays and video through its website and YouTube channel. It promotes itself on its coverage of "under-reported stories". Vice Ne ...

, which together have received both

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

and Peabody awards.

Early life

Alvi was born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, to

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 ...

parents, both of whom are academics; his mother is Sajida S. Alvi, whose focus is on

Islamic studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

and Mughal history and who is now

professor emerita ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, and his father is Sabir A. Alvi, professor emeritus in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. Alvi studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

at McGill University.

Career

Alvi launched VICE magazine with Shane Smith and

Gavin McInnes Gavin Miles McInnes (; born 17 July 1970) is a Canadian writer, podcaster, far-right commentator and founder of the Proud Boys. He is the host of '' Get Off My Lawn with Gavin McInnes'' on his website, Compound Censored. He co-founded ''Vic ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in 1996, after the three men bought its precursor, ''Voices of Montreal'', from Interimages Communications. In 2002, Alvi created VICE Music, the company's record label which has partnered with over 50 artists and sold more than 7 million albums worldwide. Its clients have included

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

Action Bronson Ariyan Arslani (born December 2, 1983), professionally known as Action Bronson, is an American rapper and television presenter. Born and raised in Queens, he released his debut mixtape ''Bon Appetit ..... Bitch!!!!!'' in January 2011 and indepe ...

, Black Lips,

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

Chromeo Chromeo is a Canadian electro-funk duo from Montreal, formed in 2002 by musicians David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel. Their sound draws from soul music, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk. As of 2024, the band h ...

The Streets The Streets is an English musical project led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner (musician), Mike Skinner. The project was founded in the early 90s, while Skinner was still a teenager; however, no music would formally eventuat ...

Bloc Party Bloc Party are an English Rock music, rock band that was formed in London, England, London in 1999 by co-founders Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, sampler) and Russell Lissack (lead guitar). Their first four albums all featur ...

, and Death From Above 1979. In 2011, Alvi launched a partnership between VICE Music and Warner Bros. Records. In 2006, as VICE was expanding from magazine publishing to video reporting, Alvi reported on a segment titled ''Gun Markets of Pakistan'', in which he travelled to Pakistan's northwestern tribal areas to cover illegal mass weapons production that was flourishing in the fallout of the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...

. Since then, he has covered stories from around the world, reporting on conflicts and unrest in the

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# ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, and the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

. He has also produced and hosted documentaries for VICE on HBO, VICE News and the VICE Guide to Travel series. In 2007, Alvi co-directed and executive-produced '' Heavy Metal in Baghdad'' for VICE Films, in which he travels to Iraq and follows the heavy metal band Acrassicauda during the fall of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

amidst the

, beginning in 2003 after the United States-led invasion of Iraq. The film was an official selection at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival and the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival, and was named Best Documentary at the 2008 Warsaw Film Festival. In 2012, Alvi along with director

Andy Capper Andrew Richard Capper (born 14 February 1973) is a British US-based Film director, director, journalist and former editor and executive producer at ''Vice Media''. In 2018, he founded Happy Now Film. Career Capper's career in journalism started ...

travelled VICE to

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, where he produced the feature-length film, REINCARNATED, featuring Snoop Dogg. The film was accepted at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and had its U.S. premiere at the 2013 SXSW festival. In 2014, Alvi served as a guest curator for the PHI Centre in Montreal and oversaw a month's worth of programming. In 2017, VICE launched a multi-part series hosted by Alvi that examines "the origins and impact of the world's deadliest terrorist organizations:

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

, al-Shabaab in

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as Jama'at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da'wa wa al-Jihad (), is a self-proclaimed jihadist militant group based in northeastern Nigeria and also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group spli ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, the Tehrik-i-Taliban in Pakistan and the

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

in Iraq." In 2020, the ''VICE Guide to Iran'', hosted by Alvi, was released shortly after the

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khom ...

' shoot-down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 during an Iran–United States standoff as part of the ongoing 2019–2021 Persian Gulf crisis. In the feature-length documentary, Alvi interviews ordinary Iranians about life under the Islamic government and covers the impact of

international sanctions International sanctions are political and economic decisions that are part of diplomatic efforts by countries, multilateral or regional organizations against states or organizations either to protect national security interests, or to protect i ...

on the country after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He also interviews prominent Iranian political figures, including Masoumeh Ebtekar and Hossein Sheikholeslam, who were among

the students The Students were an American doo-wop vocal group, which formed in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, in 1957. Although they only released four sides, two of them – "I'm So Young" and "Every Day of the Week" – became doo-wop standards. "I'm So ...

involved in the 1979–1981 Iran hostage crisis. Sheikholeslam died in March 2020 after contracting

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, one month prior to the documentary's release.

Personal life

Alvi resides in New York City. He is married, and has a son. He struggled with a heroin addiction in his youth, and was in recovery following rehabilitation when he co-founded ''VICE'' magazine in 1994.

Filmography

Alvi has producer, executive producer, writer or director credits on a range of documentary films, documentary shorts and television series.

Television

* ''The Vice Guide to Everything'' (2010) * ''Vice Meets'' (2011) * ''Upgrade'' (2011) * ''Epicly Later'd'' (2011) * ''Dalston Superstars'' (2011) * ''Powder and Rails'' (2011) * ''The Vice Guide to Travel'' (2011) * ''Picture Perfect'' (2011) * ''Art Talk'' (2011) * ''Motherboard'' (2011) * ''Behind the Seams'' (2012) * ''Discotecture'' (2012) * ''Far Out'' (2012) * ''Vice'' (2013) * ''Vice News'' (2014) * ''Vice News: Russian Roulette — the Invasion of Ukraine'' (2014) * ''Abandonware'' (2015) * ''Moj Sport'' (2015) * ''Cut-Off'' (2016) * ''Fuck, That's Delicious'' (2016) * ''Vice Essentials Canada'' (2016) * ''Tattoo Age'' (2017) * ''Vice News: Terror'' (2017) * ''World of Vice'' (2017)

Documentaries

Feature-length *'' Heavy Metal in Baghdad (2006)'' *''Heavy Metal in Istanbul (2008)'' *''North Korean Film Madness'' (2010) *''Aokigahara: Suicide Forest'' (2011) *''The Vice Guide to Congo'' (2011) *''Toxic Amazon'' (2011) *''Reincarnated'' (2012) *''Lil Bub and Friendz'' (2013) *''Svddxnly'' (2014) *''Cocaine and Crude'' (2014) *''Shelter'' (2016) *''VICE Guide to Iran'' (2020) * Showgirls of Pakistan (2021) Shorts *''Gun Markets of Pakistan'' (2006) *''Tokoloshe'' (2010) *''Life after Bin Laden in Pakistan (2011)'' *''Tokyo Rising'' (2011) *''The Rebels of Libya'' (2011) *''Rule Britannia: The British Wrester'' (2012) *''Vice Guide to Karachi: Battle of Lyari (2012)'' *''Cowboy Capitalists'' (2013) *''The Vice Podcast Show'' (2013) *''In Saddam's Shadow: Baghdad 10 Years After the Invasion (2013)'' *''Korean Poo Wine'' (2013) *''The Elmore B&S Ball'' (2013) *''My Life Online: The Grim Loner'' (2014) *''Blood Debt'' (2014) *''Rooted'' (2015) *''Inside the Monkey Lab'' (2015) *''Inside the Superhuman World of the Iceman'' (2015) *''Blast Fishing in Montenegro'' (2015) *''Valley of the Islamic Dolls'' (2015) *''Kanabis Ismedju Bola i Zakona'' (2015) *''Krivolovci: Hunting for Poachers in Siberia'' (2015) *''Svet Suspenzija/World of Suspension'' (2015) *''Izvan Granica Seksa'' (2016) *''Behind the Zero Line'' (2016) *''Making Contact'' (2017) *''Vice Talks Week with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau'' (2017) *''Turbotronik'' (2017) *''Izpravljanie Krivine'' (2017)

References

External links

Suroosh Alvi
at Vice.com * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvi, Suroosh Canadian magazine founders Alvis Canadian magazine publishers (people) 1969 births Living people Canadian Muslims Canadian people of Pakistani descent Pakistani magazine founders Businesspeople from Toronto Vice Media 21st-century Canadian businesspeople 21st-century publishers (people) Canadian Screen Award winning journalists