Arif Ali-Shah is a British

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

writer and screenplay writer. Following in his distinguished family's footsteps, he is also a teacher in the

Naqshbandi The Naqshbandi ( fa, نقشبندی)), Neqshebendi ( ku, نه‌قشه‌به‌ندی), and Nakşibendi (in Turkish) is a major Sunni order of Sufism. Its name is derived from Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari. Naqshbandi masters trace their ...

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

mystical tradition.

Life and work

Of Afghan Indian origin,

Sayyid ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Prophets in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali ...

Hashim Hashim ( ar, هاشم) is a common male Arabic given name. Hashim may also refer to: *Hashim Amir Ali *Hashim (poet) *Hashim Amla *Hashim Thaçi *Hashim Khan * Hashim Qureshi * Mir Hashim Ali Khan *Hashim al-Atassi *Hashim ibn Abd Manaf *Hashim ib ...

Arif Ali-Shah studied and received a degree in Literature at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...

in England.Arif Ali-Shah's brief biography in French (shockwave flash file)
Retrieved on 2008-11-14. Ali-Shah is credited as the writer and screenplay writer of the award-winning film ''Bye Bye Blackbird'' (2005),Writing credits for ''Bye Bye Blackbird''
Retrieved on 2008-11-14. an early 20th-century period drama directed by Robinson Savary and starring Sir

Derek Jacobi Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', ''The Tempest'', ''King ...

. 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.Details of ''Bye Bye Blackbird'' at Austrian Film Commission
Retrieved on 2008-11-14. The film won the

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

Prize at the 2005 Taormina International Film Festival and was nominated for the Tokyo Grand Prix at the 2005 Tokyo International Film Festival.Awards for ''Bye Bye Blackbird''
Retrieved on 2008-11-14. The director Robinson Savary previously won a Gold Plaque for Best Experimental Short Film, ''À suivre'' (1988), at the 1988 Chicago International Film Festival.Robinson Savary's award for ''À suivre''
Retrieved on 2008-11-14. Ali-Shah is also credited as writer of the animated film '' Papelucho y el Marciano'' (2007), directed by the

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an Alejandro Rojas Téllez.Writing credits for ''Papelucho y el marciano''
Retrieved on 2008-11-14. He has worked with film-makers Sir

Jodhi May Jodhi Tania May (''née'' Hakim-Edwards; 8 May 1975) is a British actress. She remains the youngest recipient of the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival, for ''A World Apart'' (1988). Her other film appearances include ''The Last ...

James Thierree James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, Niklas Ek,

Izabella Miko Izabella Miko (born Izabella Anna Mikołajczak; 21 January 1981) is a Polish actress, dancer, film producer, and environmental activist. She is best known for starring in the film ''Coyote Ugly'' and the music videos "Mr. Brightside" and "Miss ...

Michael Lonsdale Michael Edward Lonsdale-Crouch (24 May 1931 – 21 September 2020), commonly known as Michael Lonsdale and sometimes named as Michel Lonsdale, was a French actor and author who appeared in over 180 films and television shows. He is best know ...

and Andrej Acin.Film-makers Arif Ali-Shah has worked with
Retrieved on 2008-11-14.

Sufi lineage

Arif Ali-Shah comes from a family line of

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

nobles and teachers in the Sufi mystical tradition. His father Sayyid

Omar Ali-Shah Omar Ali-Shah ( hi, ओमर अली शाह, ur, عمر علی شاہ, nq; 19227 September 2005) was a prominent exponent of modern Naqshbandi Sufism. He wrote a number of books on the subject, and was head of a large number of Sufi groups ...

Naqshbandi (1922–2005) and his uncle Sayyid

Idries Shah Idries Shah (; hi, इदरीस शाह, ps, ادريس شاه, ur, ; 16 June 1924 – 23 November 1996), also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el- Hashimi (Arabic: سيد إدريس هاشمي) and by the pen name Arko ...

(1924–1996) were both prominent writers and teachers of modern Sufism.Obituary of Idries Shah, ''The Independent'' (London) of November 26, 1996. Arif Ali-Shah has guided study groups led by Professor Emeritus Leonard Lewin of

CU Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

, as did his father and uncle.Professor Emeritus Leonard Lewin 'established and, for many years, led study groups under the guidance of Idries Shah, Omar Ali-Shah and Arif Ali-Shah', according to his University of Colorado obituar
here
Retrieved on 2008-11-14. Arif Ali-Shah is the grandson of the

Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah ( hi, सरदार इक़बाल अली शाह, ur, ; 1894 in Sardhana, India – 4 November 1969 in Tangier, Morocco) was an Indian-Afghan author and diplomat descended from the Sadaat of Paghman. Born and e ...

(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 (Balochi language, Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian language, Persian, Punjabi language, Punjabi , Sindhi language, Sindhi, Urd ...

Jan-Fishan Khan Saiyed Muhammed Shah, better known by his title as Jan-Fishan Khan, was a 19th-century Afghan warlord.Obituary of Idries Shah, The Independent (London) of 26 November 1996., pp. 19–26 He participated in the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–42) ...

(d. 1864) who significantly assisted the British in the

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War ( fa, جنگ اول افغان و انگلیس) was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Afghanistan, Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking si ...

and the subsequent

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

References

External links

ByeByeBlackbird.com (shockwave flash website in French)RealSufism.com - contact point for study groups led by Arif Ali-Shah
(Archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali-Shah, Arif Living people

Arif Ali-Shah Arif Ali-Shah is a British film writer and screenplay writer. Following in his distinguished family's footsteps, he is also a teacher in the Naqshbandi Sufi mystical tradition. Life and work Of Afghan Indian origin, Sayyid Hashim Arif Ali-S ...

British male screenwriters British people of Afghan descent British people of Indian descent British people of Scottish descent Naqshbandi order Sufi teachers Year of birth missing (living people)

Life and work

Sufi lineage

See also

References

External links