Arif Ali-Shah
Encyclopedia
Arif Ali-Shah is an award-winning British film
writer and screenplay writer. Following in his distinguished family's footsteps, he is also a teacher in the Naqshbandi
Sufi
mystical tradition.
origin, Sayyid
Hashim
Arif Ali-Shah studied and received a degree in Literature at the University of Exeter
in England.
Ali-Shah is credited as the writer and screenplay writer of the award-winning film Bye Bye Blackbird (2005), an early 20th-century period drama directed by Robinson Savary and starring Sir Derek Jacobi
. In the film, a man lives out his dreams by learning to fly on the trapeze. In the end he is unable to continue living on the ground.
The film won the FIPRESCI
Prize at the 2005 Taormina International Film Festival and was nominated for the Tokyo Grand Prix at the 2005 Tokyo International Film Festival. The director Robinson Savary previously won a Gold Plaque for Best Experimental Short Film, À suivre (1988), at the 1988 Chicago International Film Festival.
Ali-Shah is also credited as writer of the animated film Papelucho y el Marciano
(2007), directed by the Chile
an Alejandro Rojas Téllez.
He has worked with film-makers Sir Derek Jacobi
, Jodhi May
, James Thierree
, Niklas Ek, Izabella Miko
, Michael Lonsdale
and Andrej Acin.
nobles and teachers in the Sufi mystical tradition. His father Sayyid Omar Ali-Shah
Naqshbandi (1922–2005) and his uncle Sayyid Idries Shah
(1924–1996) were both prominent writers and teachers of modern Sufism. Arif Ali-Shah has guided study groups led by Professor Emeritus Leonard Lewin of CU Boulder, as did his father and uncle.
Arif Ali-Shah is the grandson of the Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah
(1894–1969), an Afghan author, poet, diplomat, scholar, and savant. His great-great-great grandfather was the Afghan warlord, noble and Sufi teacher, the Nawab
Jan-Fishan Khan (d. 1864) who significantly assisted the British in the First Anglo-Afghan War
and the subsequent Indian Rebellion of 1857
.
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
writer and screenplay writer. Following in his distinguished family's footsteps, he is also a teacher in the Naqshbandi
Naqshbandi
Naqshbandi is one of the major Sufi spiritual orders of Sufi Islam. It is considered to be a "Potent" order.The Naqshbandi order is over 1,300 years old, and is active today...
Sufi
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
mystical tradition.
Life and work
Of Afghan IndianAfghans in India
Afghans in India are a large community numbering up to 10,000. Most are recent Hindu and Sikh refugees who fled the Taliban regime and political instability back in Afghanistan; they are concentrated in and around Delhi...
origin, Sayyid
Sayyid
Sayyid is an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib.Daughters of sayyids are given the titles Sayyida,...
Hashim
Hashemite
Hashemite is the Latinate version of the , transliteration: Hāšimī, and traditionally refers to those belonging to the Banu Hashim, or "clan of Hashim", a clan within the larger Quraish tribe...
Arif Ali-Shah studied and received a degree in Literature at the University of Exeter
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
in England.
Ali-Shah is credited as the writer and screenplay writer of the award-winning film Bye Bye Blackbird (2005), an early 20th-century period drama directed by Robinson Savary and starring Sir Derek Jacobi
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
. In the film, a man lives out his dreams by learning to fly on the trapeze. In the end he is unable to continue living on the ground.
The film won the FIPRESCI
FIPRESCI
The International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in...
Prize at the 2005 Taormina International Film Festival and was nominated for the Tokyo Grand Prix at the 2005 Tokyo International Film Festival. The director Robinson Savary previously won a Gold Plaque for Best Experimental Short Film, À suivre (1988), at the 1988 Chicago International Film Festival.
Ali-Shah is also credited as writer of the animated film Papelucho y el Marciano
Papelucho and the Martian
Papelucho and the Martian is a feature-length Chilean animated film, created by Cine Animadores and Canal 13 Films, released in 17 May, 2007....
(2007), directed by the Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an Alejandro Rojas Téllez.
He has worked with film-makers Sir Derek Jacobi
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
, Jodhi May
Jodhi May
Jodhi May is an English actress.-Early life:Born in Camden Town, London, May first acted at the age of 12 in 1988's A World Apart. The role earned her a Best Actress award at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival, shared with her co-stars Barbara Hershey and Linda Mvusi...
, James Thierree
James Thiérrée
James Thiérrée is the writer, director and star of The Junebug Symphony, La Veillée des Abysses and Au Revoir Parapluie ....
, Niklas Ek, Izabella Miko
Izabella Miko
Izabella Anna Mikołajczak , better known as Izabella Miko, is a Polish-born actress, dancer, and environmentalist.-Life and career:...
, Michael Lonsdale
Michael Lonsdale
Michael Lonsdale , sometimes billed as Michel Lonsdale, is a French actor who has appeared in over 180 films and television shows....
and Andrej Acin.
Sufi lineage
Arif Ali-Shah comes from a family line of AfghanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
nobles and teachers in the Sufi mystical tradition. His father Sayyid Omar Ali-Shah
Omar Ali-Shah
Omar Ali-Shah was a prominent exponent of modern Naqshbandi Sufism who lived from 1922 to 2005. He wrote a number of books on the subject, and was head of a large number of sufi groups, particularly in Latin America, Europe and Canada.- Life and work :...
Naqshbandi (1922–2005) and his uncle Sayyid Idries Shah
Idries Shah
Idries Shah , also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi , was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote over three dozen critically acclaimed books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.Born in India, the descendant of a...
(1924–1996) were both prominent writers and teachers of modern Sufism. Arif Ali-Shah has guided study groups led by Professor Emeritus Leonard Lewin of CU Boulder, as did his father and uncle.
Arif Ali-Shah is the grandson of the Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah
Sirdar ikbal ali shah
Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah was an Indian-Afghan author and diplomat descended from the Sadaat of Paghman. Educated in India, he came to Britain as a young man to continue his education in Edinburgh, where he married a young Scotswoman....
(1894–1969), an Afghan author, poet, diplomat, scholar, and savant. His great-great-great grandfather was the Afghan warlord, noble and Sufi teacher, the Nawab
Nawab
A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....
Jan-Fishan Khan (d. 1864) who significantly assisted the British in the First Anglo-Afghan War
First Anglo-Afghan War
The First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between British India and Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between the United Kingdom and Russia, and also marked one of the worst...
and the subsequent Indian Rebellion of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
.
External links
- ByeByeBlackbird.com (shockwave flash website in French)
- Friday Films
- Ipso Facto Films: Bye Bye Blackbird