Ashim Ahluwalia (born 1972 in

Mumbai, India Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

) is a film director and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut with the feature-length documentary ''John & Jane'' (2005), which had a world premiere at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

and a European premiere at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

, and won him the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

National Film Award for Best First Non-Feature Film of a Director The National Film Award for Best First Non-Feature Film of a Director is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is o ...

. This was followed by his first narrative feature film ''

Miss Lovely ''Miss Lovely'' is a 2012 Indian drama film directed by Ashim Ahluwalia and set in the criminal depths of Mumbai's C-grade (horror and porn film) industry. Ahluwalia's debut feature follows the story of the Duggal brothers who produce sleazy se ...

'', premiered at the

2012 Cannes Film Festival The 65th Cannes Film Festival was held from 16 to 27 May 2012. Italian film director Nanni Moretti was the President of the Jury for the main competition and British actor Tim Roth was the President of the Jury for the Un Certain Regard section. ...

. which won him India's

National Film Award – Special Jury Award (Feature film) National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, and Best Production Design at the

61st National Film Awards The 61st National Film Awards ceremony was an event during which the Directorate of Film Festivals of India presented its annual National Film Awards to honour the best films of 2013 in the Indian cinema. The ceremony was held on 3 May 2014. ...

. Working outside the mainstream

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

film system, Ashim Ahluwalia is part of a new generation of Indian directors. His unconventional films blur the lines between documentary and fiction. His short films have shown at the

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...

, the

Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...

and at the Venice Architecture Biennale.

Early life

Ashim Ahluwalia grew up in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, India. He attended the city's

Cathedral and John Connon School The Cathedral & John Connon School is a co-educational private school founded in 1860 and located in Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra.Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic ...

in upstate New York, from which he graduated with a BA in filmmaking in 1995.

Career

Ahluwalia began his film career with a series of experimental films made between 1993 and 2002. His first short, ''The Dust'' (1993), was made by reworking

home movies A home movie is a short amateur film or video typically made just to preserve a visual record of family activities, a vacation, or a special event, and intended for viewing at home by family and friends. Originally, home movies were made on ph ...

shot by his grandfather in the 1950s. He formed an independent production company, Future East, in 2005, providing an infrastructure for him to work outside mainstream film channels. Ahluwalia was selected by the

San Francisco Film Society SFFILM, formerly known as The San Francisco Film Society, is a nonprofit arts organization located in San Francisco, California, that presents year-round programs and events in film exhibition, media education, and filmmaker services. The Execut ...

as their Artist in Residence for 2013. In May 2013, he received the Charles Flint Kellogg Award in Arts and Letters from

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic ...

, his alma mater. The award is "given in recognition of a significant contribution to artistic or literary heritage." In November 2013, he was selected to be on the jury of the 8th edition of the

Rome Film Festival International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. Sections The Rome Film Festival official program is divided into several sections: Cinema d'Og ...

for the CinemaXXI section. In 2010, Ahluwalia was named "one of the ten best emerging film directors working today" by

Phaidon Press Phaidon Press is a global publisher of books on art, architecture, design, fashion, photography, and popular culture, as well as cookbooks, children's books, and travel books. The company is based in London and New York City, with additional off ...

in "Take 100: The Future of Film".Phaido
10 best new filmmakers
/ref>

Filmography

Films

* '' Thin Air'' (1999) * ''

John & Jane Ashim Ahluwalia (born 1972 in Mumbai, India) is a film director and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut with the feature-length documentary ''John & Jane'' (2005), which had a world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival an ...

'' (2005) * ''

'' (2012) * ''

Events in A Cloud Chamber Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of e ...

'' (2016) * ''

Daddy A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

'' (2017) * ''

The Field Guide to Evil ''The Field Guide To Evil'' is a 2018 anthology horror film produced by Legion M. Eight film makers from different countries bring stories or folk tales from their country to the anthology. Plot The film comprises treatises on forbidden love ...

'' (2018)

Web series

* ''CLA$$'' (Season 1) on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

Awards

Indian National Film Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

(2007) - Best Non-Fiction Film for John & Jane *

(2013) - Special Jury Award (Feature Film) for

(2013) - Best Production Design for

Notes

References

*Koehler, Robert. (13 October 2005)
"John & Jane"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' *Stone, Susan (9 March 2006)
"Indian by Day, American by Night"
''

Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

''. *Pasolini, Antonio
"Dispatch: The Osnabrück Media Art Festival, Germany, 10–14 May 2006"
kamera.co.uk. Retrieved 15 November 2011

External links

*

* John & Jane: Official Websit
John & Jane: Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahluwalia, Ashim 1972 births Living people Indian male screenwriters Indian experimental filmmakers Hindi film producers Bard College alumni Hindi-language film directors Film directors from Mumbai Cathedral and John Connon School alumni Indian Sikhs 21st-century Indian film directors Best Production Design National Film Award winners Ahluwalia