Favourite quote of the month
"It's impossible, that's sure. So let's start working." - Philippe Petit
"It's impossible, that's sure. So let's start working." - Philippe Petit
BIO
"Ordinary people have extraordinary stories to tell. This is what motivates me to bring those stories to the screen.", says Afia Serena Nathaniel, founder of an indie production house, Zambeel Films, in Pakistan.
Afia - filmmaker-social activist – graduated as a Dean's Fellow from Columbia University with an MFA in Film Directing. She has a ten year working experience in film and TV production in Pakistan and New York.
Afia's short films have garnered critical acclaim at various international festivals, including, Rotterdam, Reel-Toronto and Montreal. Her directorial debut "Nadah" was nominated for the Golden Reel Award in Los Angeles together with her screenwriting debut of "Butterfly". Her recent short film "Long After" starring Tillotama Shome (Monsoon Wedding) and Ayad Akhtar (The War Within) was a recipient of the HBO Development Award and a post-production grant from the Caucus Foundation.
Afia is the first Pakistani filmmaker whose feature screenplay was one of the top 100 international screenplays by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2007 as semi-finalist for the Nicholl Fellowship. She has won several awards for her films and screenplays, including the All Roads Seed grant from National Geographic, Hubert Bals Fund, Ezra Litwak Distinction in Screenwriting, IFP Market Best Screenplay and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association award.
Afia has considerable work experience in the advertising and non-profit sectors. She has a deep interest in the use of media as a platform for advocacy issues involving women and children ifrom marginalised communities. In 2004, Afia co-scripted and narrated the documentary "Women Are" – a project by UNAIDS and World YWCA. In 2006, Afia worked as a film editor on the acclaimed documentary "Shame", a story about a gangraped woman in Pakistan.
In addition to writing, directing, producing and editing, Afia has worked in an advisory capacity on several film projects, including "The War Within". She has mentored and advised several Cinereach fellows based in New York and has conducted masterclasses on filmmaking at LUMS and several other institutes of higher learning in Pakistan. She also curated the first women’s film festival at International House in NYC.
Afia has a deep and abiding interest in the power of media and technology and how it can be leveraged to bring changes to communities and societies. She has given several keynote addresses on the role of artists and change in societies. She was invited as a speaker on "Terrorism in South Asia" hosted by Columbia University.
Her recent producing credit include a supernatural short film "Vanish" in New York.
FILMOGRAPHY
Neither the Veil nor the Four Walls Project (in development)
Feature, Thriller, 90 mins
Writer, Director
Vanish directed by Brian Fitzhugh (post-production)
2008, Drama, Supernatural, S16mm, 18 mins, US
Producer
Muntazir (Long After...)
2007, Drama, S16mm, 11mins, US-Pakistan
Writer, Director, Producer, Editor, Art Director, Executive Producer
Toba Tek Singh
2006, Drama, Satire, Historical, DV, 18 mins, Pakistan
Writer, Director, Editor, Producer, Executive Producer
The War Within directed by Joseph Castelo
2005, Feature, Drama, HD, 110 mins, US
Consultant
Sandra directed by Ashley Patterson
2005, Drama, DV, 15 mins, US
Assistant Director, Script Supervisor
The Magic Bean directed by Camilla Paterno
2005, Drama, DV, 20 mins, US-Italy
Assitant Director
Women Are...
2004, Documentary, DV, 50', Switzerland
Co-Narrator (Produced by World YWCA, UNAIDS, Mondofragilis)
Nadah
2002, Drama, Mini-DV, 13 mins, Pakistan
Director, Editor, Producer
Butterfly
2002, Drama, Digibeta, 23 mins, India
Writer
FILM AWARDS / HONOURS / GRANTS
Geri Ashur Screenwriting Award (2010)
All Roads Seed Grant, National Geographic (2009)
Hubert Bals Fund, Development (2009)
Official Selection, Berlinale Talent Market (2009)
Berlin Talent Campus (2009)
Toba Tek Singh, Nominee Filmmaker’s Choice award, Culture Unplugged (2009)
Winner, Cinereach Development Award (2008)
Semi-Finalist, Nicholl Fellowship (Academy of Motions Picture Arts & Sciences) (2007)
Official Participant, AMPAV, Cannes (2006)
Winner, Post-Production Grant, Caucus Foundation (2006)
Winner, Fox Foundation award (2006)
Milos Forman Finishing Fund (2006)
Hollywood Foreign Press Association Grant (2006)
Winner, IFP Market Screenplay Award (2005)
Winner, Ezra Litwak Award for Distinction in Screenwriting (2005)
Official Selection, IFP Market (2005)
Official Selection, Tribeca Connect, NY (2005)
Nadah, Nominee Golden Reel Award, VC Filmfest (2003)
ACADEMIC AWARDS / FELLOWSHIPS / GRANTS
World Studio Foundation Fellow (2004-6)
AAUW International Fellow (2003)
MMMF (James Wolfensohn) Fellow, World Bank (2003)
WIL Fellow, International House, NY (2003)
Dean's Fellow, School of Arts, Columbia Univ. (2001-3)
Mangat Rai Gold Medal, Kinnaird College, Lahore, Pakistan (1994)
"Ordinary people have extraordinary stories to tell. This is what motivates me to bring those stories to the screen.", says Afia Serena Nathaniel, founder of an indie production house, Zambeel Films, in Pakistan.
Afia - filmmaker-social activist – graduated as a Dean's Fellow from Columbia University with an MFA in Film Directing. She has a ten year working experience in film and TV production in Pakistan and New York.
Afia's short films have garnered critical acclaim at various international festivals, including, Rotterdam, Reel-Toronto and Montreal. Her directorial debut "Nadah" was nominated for the Golden Reel Award in Los Angeles together with her screenwriting debut of "Butterfly". Her recent short film "Long After" starring Tillotama Shome (Monsoon Wedding) and Ayad Akhtar (The War Within) was a recipient of the HBO Development Award and a post-production grant from the Caucus Foundation.
Afia is the first Pakistani filmmaker whose feature screenplay was one of the top 100 international screenplays by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2007 as semi-finalist for the Nicholl Fellowship. She has won several awards for her films and screenplays, including the All Roads Seed grant from National Geographic, Hubert Bals Fund, Ezra Litwak Distinction in Screenwriting, IFP Market Best Screenplay and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association award.
Afia has considerable work experience in the advertising and non-profit sectors. She has a deep interest in the use of media as a platform for advocacy issues involving women and children ifrom marginalised communities. In 2004, Afia co-scripted and narrated the documentary "Women Are" – a project by UNAIDS and World YWCA. In 2006, Afia worked as a film editor on the acclaimed documentary "Shame", a story about a gangraped woman in Pakistan.
In addition to writing, directing, producing and editing, Afia has worked in an advisory capacity on several film projects, including "The War Within". She has mentored and advised several Cinereach fellows based in New York and has conducted masterclasses on filmmaking at LUMS and several other institutes of higher learning in Pakistan. She also curated the first women’s film festival at International House in NYC.
Afia has a deep and abiding interest in the power of media and technology and how it can be leveraged to bring changes to communities and societies. She has given several keynote addresses on the role of artists and change in societies. She was invited as a speaker on "Terrorism in South Asia" hosted by Columbia University.
Her recent producing credit include a supernatural short film "Vanish" in New York.
FILMOGRAPHY
Neither the Veil nor the Four Walls Project (in development)
Feature, Thriller, 90 mins
Writer, Director
Vanish directed by Brian Fitzhugh (post-production)
2008, Drama, Supernatural, S16mm, 18 mins, US
Producer
Muntazir (Long After...)
2007, Drama, S16mm, 11mins, US-Pakistan
Writer, Director, Producer, Editor, Art Director, Executive Producer
Toba Tek Singh
2006, Drama, Satire, Historical, DV, 18 mins, Pakistan
Writer, Director, Editor, Producer, Executive Producer
The War Within directed by Joseph Castelo
2005, Feature, Drama, HD, 110 mins, US
Consultant
Sandra directed by Ashley Patterson
2005, Drama, DV, 15 mins, US
Assistant Director, Script Supervisor
The Magic Bean directed by Camilla Paterno
2005, Drama, DV, 20 mins, US-Italy
Assitant Director
Women Are...
2004, Documentary, DV, 50', Switzerland
Co-Narrator (Produced by World YWCA, UNAIDS, Mondofragilis)
Nadah
2002, Drama, Mini-DV, 13 mins, Pakistan
Director, Editor, Producer
Butterfly
2002, Drama, Digibeta, 23 mins, India
Writer
FILM AWARDS / HONOURS / GRANTS
Geri Ashur Screenwriting Award (2010)
All Roads Seed Grant, National Geographic (2009)
Hubert Bals Fund, Development (2009)
Official Selection, Berlinale Talent Market (2009)
Berlin Talent Campus (2009)
Toba Tek Singh, Nominee Filmmaker’s Choice award, Culture Unplugged (2009)
Winner, Cinereach Development Award (2008)
Semi-Finalist, Nicholl Fellowship (Academy of Motions Picture Arts & Sciences) (2007)
Official Participant, AMPAV, Cannes (2006)
Winner, Post-Production Grant, Caucus Foundation (2006)
Winner, Fox Foundation award (2006)
Milos Forman Finishing Fund (2006)
Hollywood Foreign Press Association Grant (2006)
Winner, IFP Market Screenplay Award (2005)
Winner, Ezra Litwak Award for Distinction in Screenwriting (2005)
Official Selection, IFP Market (2005)
Official Selection, Tribeca Connect, NY (2005)
Nadah, Nominee Golden Reel Award, VC Filmfest (2003)
ACADEMIC AWARDS / FELLOWSHIPS / GRANTS
World Studio Foundation Fellow (2004-6)
AAUW International Fellow (2003)
MMMF (James Wolfensohn) Fellow, World Bank (2003)
WIL Fellow, International House, NY (2003)
Dean's Fellow, School of Arts, Columbia Univ. (2001-3)
Mangat Rai Gold Medal, Kinnaird College, Lahore, Pakistan (1994)