SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY: AMBARIEN ALQADAR
NISA/WOMAN
Feature Narrative Screenplay I Writer-Director I USA, UK, India I Development, 2026
Emerging Voice in Indian Cinema Award, The Writers Ink Screenwriting Lab, Mumbai.
STRAY GIRLS
Narrative Short | 16 min | Writer-Director, Producer | Completed, 2026
Full Spectrum Features, USA; Lotus Visual Productions, UK; Anurag Kashyap & Flip Films, India
INHERITANCE
Hybrid Personal Essay Film | Writer-Director, Producer | Research & Development, 2026
Building Bridges Doris Duke Award, 2025; Center for Asian American Media Fellow, The Muslim House, Sundance Film Festival, 2026
LAND OF DREAMS
Documentary | 40 min | Producer-Director, Editor | Distribution, 2024
Filmed over a decade between India and United States, an intimate portrait of an immigrant taxi driver from Delhi chasing his dream of becoming a filmmaker in America. Best Short Documentary, Society for Visual Anthropology Film & Media Festival, 2025; International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala, 2025; Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival, 2025; Indie Meme Texas 2025, San Francisco South Asian Film Festival 2024.
AYESHA
Narrative Short | 15 min | Writer-Director, Editor, Producer | 2022
Ben Lazaroff Screenwriting Award for Best Original Screenplay, Temple University; Temple University Graduate Thesis Award; The Carole Fielding Award, Emerging Filmmaker Award, Queens World Film Festival, New York.
THE GHETTO GIRL
Hybrid Doc-Fiction | 28 min | Writer-Director, Editor | 2014
Best Graduate Film Award, Society for Visual Anthropology Film & Media Festival, 2014; Indian Documentary Producers Association Award for Excellence, 2012; Jury Award, Federation of Film Societies of India - SIGNS, 2012 Produced with: Public Service Broadcasting Trust, India.
Broadcast: Indian National Television Network 2014
FOUR WOMEN AND A ROOM
Hybrid Doc-Fiction | 28 min | Writer-Director, Editor | 2009
Indian Panorama, International Film Festival of India, 2008; Mumbai International Film Festival; Indian Documentary Producers Association Award for Excellence, 2009 Produced with: Public Service Broadcasting Trust, India.
Broadcast: Indian National Television Network 2010
ELSEWHERE
Documentary | 28 min | India / Spain | Co-Director, Cinematographer, Editor, Sound Designer | 2005
Fellowship Support: European Union–India Documentary Film Fellowship, Thomson Foundation, UK
WHO CAN SPEAK OF MEN?Documentary | 28 min | Director, Cinematographer, Editor | 2005
London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, BFI, 2005- described by BFI London as “revolutionary and subversive” in its portrayal of contemporary Indian Muslim women and noted for the filmmaker’s “unprecedented access” as someone from the same area. Produced at: AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia.
SELECTED AWARDS (FILMS & SCREENPLAYS)
2025 Society for Visual Anthropology Award, Best Documentary, Land of Dreams
2025 South Asian Film Festival of Montreal, Best Documentary Short Award, Land of Dreams
2023 Emerging Voice in Indian Cinema Award, Writers Ink Screenwriting Lab, Mumbai, Nisa
2023 Best Documentary Short Film, South Asian Film Festival, Chicago, IL The Calligrapher
2022 Rewrite Feature Screenwriting Residency, Jaipur, India, Nisa
2022 1497 Feature Screenwriting Lab Finalist, Bird Woman
2021 Stowe Story Labs Screenwriting Fellow & Screen Actors Guild Finalist, Bird Woman
2021 Sundance Creative Producing Lab, Shortlist, Bird Woman
2019 The Athena Screenwriting Lab, New York City, Bird Woman
2018 Emerging Filmmaker Award, Queens World Film Festival, New York, Ayesha
2018 Best Ensemble Narrative Short Nomination, Queens World Film Festival, NY, Ayesha
2017 Award of Distinction, Canada Shorts , Ayesha
2017 Honorable Mention, Experimental Forum, Ayesha
2014 Society for Visual Anthropology Award, American Anthropological Association, Best Graduate Film Award, The Ghetto Girl
2012 Ben Lazaroff Screenwriting Award for Best Original Screenplay, Ayesha
2012 Temple University Graduate Thesis Award, Ayesha
2012 Indian Documentary Producers Association Award for Excellence, The Ghetto Girl
2012 Special Jury Award, Federation of Film Societies of India-SIGNS, The Ghetto Girl
2012 Pennsylvania Council for the Arts: PIFVA, Ayesha
2012 The Carole Fielding Award, University Film & Video Association, Ayesha
2011 Pennsylvania Council for the Arts: PIFVA, The Ghetto Girl
2009 Indian Documentary Producers Association Silver Award for Excellence, Four Women & A Room
2006 Best Documentary Gold, International Digital Film Festival of India, Elsewhere
SELECTED FILM FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
2026 Society for Visual Anthropology Film Festival, New Orleans, Land of Dreams
2026 Society for Visual Anthropology Film Festival, Virtual Edition, Land of Dreams
2026 New Filmmakers, New York, Land of Dreams
2026 28th Madurai International Documentary & Shorts Film Festival India, Land of Dreams
2026 12th Kolkata People’s Film Festival, India, Land of Dreams
2025 Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival, Nepal, Land of Dreams
2025 The Workers Unite Film Festival, New York, Land of Dreams
2025 The Workers Unite Film Festival, Virtual Edition, Land of Dreams
2025 Marupakkam Documentary Film Festival, Chennai, India, Land of Dreams
2025 International Documentary & Shorts Film Festival of Kerala, Focus, India, Land of Dreams
2025 Indie Meme, Austin, Texas, Land of Dreams
2025 South Asian Film Festival of Montreal, Canada, Land of Dreams
2024 San Francisco South Asian Film Festival, Land of Dreams
2023 Chicago South Asian Film Festival, The Calligrapher
2023 Washington DC South Asian Film Festival, The Calligrapher
2021 I View World Human Rights Film Festival, Ayesha
2021 I View World Human Rights Film Festival, The Ghetto Girl
2021 I View World Human Rights Film Festival, Who Can Speak of Men?
2021 New York City South Asian Film Festival, Ayesha
2021 New York City South Asian Film Festival, The Ghetto Girl
2021 New York City South Asian Film Festival, Who Can Speak of Men?
2020 Santiago Independent Film Awards, Ayesha
2019 Women of Color Film Festival, MAGIC Spell Studios, New York, Ayesha
2018 New Filmmakers, Anthology Film Archives, New York, Ayesha
2017 Canada Shorts Film Festival, Ayesha
2017 Oil Valley Film Festival, Ayesha
2017 Trenton Film Festival, Ayesha
2017 Queens World Film Festival, Ayesha
2013 International Women’s Film Festival of Seoul, South Korea, The Ghetto Girl
2013 Tempo Dokumentär Festival, Stockholm, The Ghetto Girl
2012 Diamond Screen, Temple University Student Showcase, The Ghetto Girl
2012 International Association of Women in Radio & Television, Our Lives to Live, Ghetto Girl
2011 The Open Frame Film Festival, India, The Ghetto Girl
2010 Mumbai International Film Festival, Four Woman and a Room
2009 Karachi International Film Festival, Pakistan, Four Women & a Room
2009 International Documentary & Short Film Festival, Kerala, Four Women & a Room
2009 Indo-Korea International Women’s Film Festival, South Korea, Four Women & a Room
2009 9th International Social Communication Cinema, India, Four Women and a Room
2009 Indo-Korea International Women’s Film Festival, Four Women and a Room
2010 Indian Panorama, International Film Festival of India, Kolhapur, Four Women & a Room
2008 Panorama Section, International Film Festival of India, Goa, Four Women and a Room
2008 Federation of Film Societies of India SIGNS, Four Women and a Room
2007 Public Service Broadcasting International Film Festival, India, Who Can Speak of Men?
2006 The British Council Library, New Delhi, India, Who Can Speak of Men?
2006 The Rialto Theatre, Amsterdam, Who Can Speak of Men?
2006 Pink Apple Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Zurich, Switzerland, Who Can Speak of Men?
2005 The Berlin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Who Can Speak of Men?
2005 Reeling Chicago Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival, Who Can Speak of Men?
2005 Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Who Can Speak of Men?
2005 London Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Who Can Speak of Men?
2005 Copenhagen Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Denmark, Who Can Speak of Men?
2005 Cineffable, Paris Feminist & Lesbian Film Festival, Who Can Speak of Men?
2005 Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival, Who Can Speak of Men?
2004 The British Film Institute Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, UK, Who Can Speak of Men?
2004 Larzish International Festival of Gender and Sexuality Mumbai, Who Can Speak of Men?
MUSEUM, ART GALLERY EXHIBITIONS
2023 Art Institute of Chicago, DePaul University Night, Sultana’s Dream
2023 University of Pennsylvania, Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, The Calligrapher
2021 Loss & Transience, An Exhibition of Moving Image Artworks & Documentary Films from India, Vision Mix UK, Hong-Gah Museum, Taiwan, The Ghetto Girl
2017 Borders in a Single Shot: The Farocki Academy, Berlin, Germany, The Ghetto Girl
2017 The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Artists’ Showcase, Ayesha
2015 William and Harris Gallery, New York, The Ghetto Girl
2014 Kriti Film Club, New Delhi, India, The Ghetto Girl
2012 Alliance Française, Mumbai, India, The Ghetto Girl
2012 Refractions on Muslim Identity, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology & Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, The Ghetto Girl
2012 International Visual Sociology Association, New York, The Ghetto Girl
2012 International Conference on Islam, Gender and Youth in South Asia, Berlin, Germany, The Ghetto Girl
2007 The EU-India Conflict Resolution Programme, Cardiff, UK, Elsewhere
2007 The Thompson Foundation, Cardiff, UK, Elsewhere
SELECTED ARTISTIC HONORS & RESIDENCIES
2026 - Center for Asian American Media Fellow, The Muslim House, Sundance Film Festival
2025 - Building Bridges Doris Duke Award, Inheritance
2021 - Project Space Residency, Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, New York
2020 - Athena Screenwriting Lab Alum Fellow, New York
2017 - Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Residency
2017 - Mid Atlantic Creative Arts Fellowship Award
2016 Filming in Cuba with Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami
2013 - ITVS Women and Girls Lead Global Fellow, India
2012 Public Service Broadcasting Trust National Film Fellowship, India
2009 Public Service Broadcasting Trust National Film Fellowship, India
2007 Public Service Broadcasting Trust National Film Fellowship, India
SELECTED FELLOWSHIPS
2026–2028 - Maps of Return: Practice-Based Research on Muslim Girlhood and Memory, DePaul Humanities Collaborative Fellowship
2026 - Humanities X Fellowship, DePaul University
2009 - Fulbright-Nehru Leadership Development Fellow, Temple University
2004 - European Union-India Documentary Film Fellowship, Thomson Foundation, UK
2002 - Centre for the Study of Developing Societies / SARAI Independent Research Fellow, India
SELECTED INDUSTRY PRESENTATIONS
2026 Queer Pitch, Berlin International Film Festival, Germany, Stray Girls
2024 - Script to Screen: QueerFrames Screenwriting Lab, Netflix India & The Queer Muslim Project, Nisa / Woman
SELECTED WRITINGS
2023 - "Veiling/Unveiling," in The Hijab, Islam & The Politics of Women's Clothing, Simon & Schuster India
2020 - "What Does it Mean to Live Under the Fear of Being Declared Foreigner in Your Own Country? Notes on Citizenship and Belonging," The Polis Project
SELECTED PUBLIC LECTURES & ARTIST TALKS
2023 - "Erasure and Visibility," The Art Institute of Chicago
2023 - Forum on Heritage, Penn Museum Culture Films & Wolf Humanities Center
2021 - "The Power of Stories," panel with Huma Qureshi and Arfa Sherwani, Harvard Kennedy School Leadership Program
2021 - "Filming the Muslim Woman," conversation with journalist Teresa Rehman
2020 - "Centering the Margins: On Screen Narratives, Privilege & Dynamics of Exclusion," I View World Human Rights Film Festival & New York South Asian Film Festival
EDUCATION
MFA, Film & Media Arts, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA, 2012
MA, Film & Mass Communication, AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India, 2005
BA, English Literature, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India, 2000
SELECTED EMPLOYMENT
Assistant Professor, Film Directing & Screenwriting, School of Cinematic Arts, DePaul University, Chicago
AJK Mass Communication Research Center, Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi & Rochester Institute of Technology , New York