Saira Shah (born 5 October 1964) is a British author, reporter and documentary filmmaker. She produces, writes and narrates current affairs films.

Life

Shah was born in London and raised in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England. She was educated at

Bryanston School Bryanston School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located next to the village of Bryanston, and near the town of Blandford Forum, in Dorset in South West England. It was founded in 1928 ...

and read

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

at the

School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

, graduating in 1986. Her father was

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 ...

, an

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

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 ...

and half- Scottish writer of books on

Sufism 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, r ...

. Part of his family was originally from

Paghman Paghman (Persian/Pashto: پغمان) is a town in the hills near Afghanistan's capital of Kabul. It is the seat of the Paghman District (in the western part of Kabul Province) which has a population of about 120,000 (2002 official UNHCR est.), ma ...

, Afghanistan. Her mother is half-Indian

Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...

and half-English. The author

Tahir Shah Tahir Shah ( fa, طاهر شاه, gu, તાહિર શાહ; ''né'' Sayyid Tahir al-Hashimi (Arabic: سيد طاهر الهاشمي); born 16 November 1966) is a British author, journalist and documentary maker of Afghan-Indian descent. ...

is her brother and she also has a sister, Tahir's twin,

Safia Shah Safia Nafisa Shah ( fa, سفیا شاه, gu, સફિયા શાહ; born 16 November 1966), now Safia Thomas, is a British writer, editor, television news producer and member of the Afghan-Indian Shah family. She and her husband Ian also ...

. Shah currently lives between London and rural France with her partner, journalist and photographer Scott Goodfellow, and their son and daughter Hamish and Rosie Goodfellow. Ailsa Goodfellow, their first daughter, died, suddenly, of a pulmonary embolism early in 2017. Shah said: "Ailsa inspired me to write a novel, ''The Mouse-Proof Kitchen'', based on her life, which was published in 2013. By then Ailsa had become our teacher, demonstrating how to live with courage, patience and joy – and proving that the essence of humanity lies far deeper than mere development." The novel gives a vivid account of how the fictional characters Anna and her husband Tobias deal with their daughter Freya's birth and the experiences which they must undergo before fully appreciating the miracle of her life.

News reporter and documentary maker

Shah's first trip to Afghanistan was when she was 21 years old. She worked for 3 years in

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

as a reporter covering the

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. She has also worked as a journalist for

Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...

, which she left in 2001. She married and divorced (after 5 years) a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

reporter, whom she met in

. Shah worked with James Miller on several projects including the films ''Beneath the Veil'' (2001), ''Unholy War'' (2001), both

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

'' Dispatches'' films for the UK documentary company

Hardcash productions Hardcash Productions is a British independent television production company set up by David Henshaw in 1992. Hardcash specialises in current affairs programmes and has won a range of awards - including six Emmys, two BAFTAs, the Prix Italia, ...

, and ''

Death in Gaza ''Death in Gaza'' is a 2004 documentary film about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, opening in the West Bank but then moving to Gaza and eventually settling in Rafah where the film spends most of its time. It concentrates on three children, Ahm ...

'' (2004), for their own TV company Frostbite Films. Miller was killed in 2003. In 2004, Shah won a Current Affairs

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

for ''Death in Gaza'' and in 2005 the film won three

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s for Outstanding Cinematography For Nonfiction Programming (Single Or Multi-Camera), Outstanding Directing For Nonfiction Programming and Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking (Shah sharing one award as a producer and being a nominee for another as a writer). Shah also appeared on the television programme ''

Breakfast with Frost ''Breakfast with Frost'' is a Sunday morning BBC current affairs programme hosted by Sir David Frost. It covered the main political news of the day, with Frost interviewing key figures in the world of politics, and celebrity guests reviewing the ...

'' on 10 August 2003.

Films

* '' Beneath the Veil'' * ''

'' * '' Unholy War''

Film companies

* Frostbite Productions

Books

* *

Newspaper and magazine articles

* *

Interviews

* *

Reviews

Awards

* 2002

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

– Best International Current Affairs – Beneath the Veil * 2002 Royal Television Society – Programme of the Year – Beneath the Veil * 2002 Royal Television Society – Reporter of the Year – Saira Shah * 2002 BAFTA – Best current affairs – Beneath the Veil * 2002

One World Media One World Media is a non-profit organisation, registered in the UK as a charitable trust. It is based in London. The charities mission is to support strong vibrant and independent media that empowers citizens, promotes justice and contributes to in ...

Award – Beneath the Veil * 2002 SAIS-Novartis International Journalism Award – Beneath the Veil * 2002 Mo Amin Courage Under Fire Award – Saira Shah * 2002

International Documentary Association International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Filmm ...

Courage Under Fire Award – Saira Shah * 2002

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

s – Beneath the Veil and Unholy War * 2002 News and Documentary Emmy awards – Winner of Outstanding Investigative journalism – Beneath the Veil * 2002 News and Documentary Emmy awards – Nomination for Best documentary – Beneath the Veil * 2002 News and Documentary Emmy awards – Outstanding coverage of a continuing news story – Unholy War * 2002 Golden Nymph award, Monte Carlo – Beneath the Veil * 2005 BAFTA – Best current affairs film – Death in Gaza * 2005 Emmy – Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking – Death in Gaza * 2005 Emmy – Nomination for Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming – Death in Gaza * 2005 One World 2005 – Human Rights award – Death in Gaza

References

External links

*
Interview with CNN

* ttp://www.convilleandwalsh.com/index.php/authors/author/saira-shah/ Saira Shah's page

Conville and Walsh George is the second largest city in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The city is a popular holiday and conference centre, as well as the administrative and commercial hub and the seat of the Garden Route District Municipality. It is na ...

literary agency {{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Saira 1964 births Living people People educated at Bryanston School Alumni of SOAS University of London Journalists from London Film producers from London

Saira Shah Saira Shah (born 5 October 1964) is a British author, reporter and documentary filmmaker. She produces, writes and narrates current affairs films. Life Shah was born in London and raised in Kent, England. She was educated at Bryanston Schoo ...

BAFTA winners (people) Emmy Award winners English people of Afghan descent English people of Indian descent English people of Scottish descent People from Kent English people of Parsi descent People associated with The Institute for Cultural Research