Jamil Dehlavi is an independent filmmaker of Pakistani and French origin. Son of a diplomat who travelled extensively between Asia and Europe, he attended a number of international schools, then Rugby ...Show More
Jamil Dehlavi is an independent filmmaker of Pakistani and French origin. Son of a diplomat who travelled extensively between Asia and Europe, he attended a number of international schools, then Rugby School in England, after which he gained a place at Oxford University. He graduated with a BA in Politics and French Literature and an MA (Hons) in Jurisprudence. He was then called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn but never practised, preferring instead to go into the world of cinema.Dehlavi studied film directing at Columbia University in New York, where he was awarded a Master of Fine Arts Degree. While based there he also trained as an actor with Stella Adler and made his first feature film Towers of Silence. The film was shown at numerous international festivals and won the Grand Prize at the Festival of the Americas. Dehlavi wrote, produced and directed it, a practice he has continued with most of his work to date.His next film was an abstract essay on tyranny - the controversial The Blood of Hussain, a fictional account of a military dictatorship and the revolutionary movement against it. Shot on location in Pakistan, Dehlavi recast the martyrdom of Prophet Mohammed's grandson in the context of modern Pakistan. The film was finished a fortnight before General Zia came to power and for that sin of political clairvoyance, he was forced to leave his country and live in exile. The film was selected for the Director's Fortnight in Cannes and won the Grand Prize at the Taormina film festival.Based in England, his next feature film was Born of Fire, a supernatural thriller starring Oscar-nominated actor Peter Firth as a virtuoso flautist who travels to the wilds of Turkey to engage in a musical battle with a supernatural being threatening to engulf the world in fire. It was another festival favourite and won prizes at Madrid, Houston and was an Official Selection at Avoriaz.Under Benazir Bhutto's government Dehlavi returned to Pakistan to film Immaculate Conception starring Academy Award winner Melissa Leo, James Wilby, Zia Mohyeddin and Shabana Azmi who is regarded as one of India's finest actresses. It is the story of a childless English-American couple who visit a fertility shrine in Karachi with tragic results. The shoot was not without its own difficulties as the Gulf War had just begun and anti-Western feeling was at its height. Despite the political problems, the film was completed successfully and went on to win the Special Jury Prize at the Dinard Film Festival and was selected for Panorama in Berlin.In 1994 Dehlavi then produced Passion in the Dessert for American director Lavinia Currier. Shot on location in Jordan, the film stars Michel Piccoli and Ben Daniels and is based on a Balzac short story set during the Napoleonic Wars which relates the adventures of a French soldier lost in the desert in Egypt and the friendship he develops with a wild leopard.Dehlavi's next feature film project was Jinnah, which he wrote, produced and directed in 1998. Starring screen legend Sir Christopher Lee, James Fox, Maria Aitken and acclaimed Bollywood superstar Shashi Kapoor, it is a historical epic which tells the dramatic story of the partition of India and the founding of Pakistan. It received the Grand Prize at the Zanzibar International Film Festival, Best International Film at the World Film Awards in Indonesia, the Gold Award at Worldfest Flagstaff for Best Foreign Film, a Silver Award at Houston, and was nominated for a Golden Pyramid at the Cairo International Film Festival.Infinite Justice, his next film, starring Kevin Collins and Raza Jaffrey was shot on location in New York, London and Karachi. It is the story of a Jewish American journalist who is held for ransom by Muslim fundamentalists against the release of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. The film received the Fipresci International Critics Prize, the Best European Feature Film Award at the European Independent Film Festival in France, the Robert Rodriguez Prize for Excellence at the Hollywood DV Festival, the Critic's Prize at the Amiens International Film Festival, the Audience Award at the Florence River to River Festival, the Special Jury Award at Worldfest Houston, and Raza Jaffrey won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the KaraFilm Festival in Pakistan.He then made Godforsaken, a supernatural thriller about a fallen angel seeking redemption for the death of a child under his protection. Shot on location in England, the film stars Annabel Wright, Trevor White and Nick Ashdon. The film won the Special Jury Remi and Best International Film Awards at Worldfest Houston, the Golden Palm Award at the Mexico International Film Festival, was nominated for Best Feature Film at the European Independent Film Festival in Paris and was shown in competition at the Cairo International and The Beverly Hills Hi-Def Film Festivals. Annabel Wright was nominated for the Best Actress Award at the Milan International Film Festival.Dehlavi has just completed his current project Seven Lucky Gods, a psychological thriller about an illegal Albanian immigrant who infiltrates the lives of a group of Londoners with devastating consequences. The lead actor is Albania's rising international star Nik Xhelilaj supported by Christopher Villiers, Alison Peebles, Kate Maravan, Alexandra Boyd and Vernon Dobtcheff. This film was awarded the Grand Prize at the Tirana International Film Festival, Best Feature Film at the Canada International Film Festival, the Gold Lion Award at the Barcelona International Film Festival and the Special Jury Prize at Worlfest Houston where Nik Xhelilaj won Best Actor and Alison Peebles was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Christopher Villiers was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Hoboken International Film Festival and Kate Maravan for Best Supporting Actress at the Milan International Film Festival where Dehlavi was also nominated for Best Production Design.Fluent in five languages, Dehlavi has also worked on various projects for the BBC, Channel Four, and French Television including QÂF - The Sacred Mountain a homage to a volcano which won five international awards at environmental film festivals, Passover a passion play shot in Cordoba made in collaboration with the celebrated flamenco guitarist Paco Peña, and The Guitarist which won a Gold Medal at the Atlanta Film Festival and a Silver Medal at Cannes. He has also worked in the Radio & Visual Services Division at the United Nations and is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Habib University in Karachi. Hide
