Jamil Dehlavi
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
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 in London but never practised, preferring instead to enter the world of cinema. Dehlavi studied film directing at Columbia University in New York, where he was awarded a Master of Fine Arts.
While based in New York, he also trained as an actor with Stella Adler and made his first film TOWERS OF SILENCE. which he wrote, produced and directed, a practise he has continued with most of his work to date. The film was shown at numerous international festivals and won the Grand Prize for best experimental film at the Festival of the Americas.
His next film was an abstract essay on tyranny - THE BLOOD OF HUSSAIN, a fictional account of a military dictatorship and the revolutionary movement against it. Shot on location, 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, Dehlavi was forced to leave his country and live in exile. The film was selected by the Director's Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, won the Grand Prize at the Taormina film Festival, was nominated for a Golden Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival, won a Gold Award at Worldfest Houston and was the Critics' Choice at the London Film Festival.
Dehlavi escaped to London and made his next feature film BORN OF FIRE for Film Four International, 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 the Gold Special Jury Prize at Worldfest Houston and the Catalan Award at Imagfic Madrid. It was also In Competition at the Avoriaz Festival du Film Fantastique, and was nominated for a Golden Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival.
Under Benazir Bhutto's government, Dehlavi returned to Pakistan and was commissioned again by Film Four to make 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 western 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, a Gold Hugo nomination at the Chicago International Film Festival and was selected by Panorama at the Berlin International Film Festival.
In 1994 Dehlavi then produced PASSION IN THE DESERT for American director Lavinia Currier. Shot on location in Jordan, the film stars Ben Daniels and renowned French actor Michel Piccoli. Adapted from a Balzac short story, it 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 Festival of the Dhow Countries, Best International Film at the World Film Awards in Indonesia, the Gold Award at Worldfest Flagstaff and Best Foreign Film at Houston, and it 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. Loosely based on the Daniel Pearl murder, 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, Best European Feature Film 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, Best Feature Film at the Florence River to River Festival, the Special Jury Award at Worldfest Houston, and Raza Jaffrey won Best Supporting Actor at the KaraFilm Festival in Pakistan.
Dehlavi 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, it was nominated for Best Feature Film at the European Independent Film Festival in Paris, the Cairo International Film Festival, the Beverly Hills Film Festival and the Portobello Festival in London. Annabel Wright was nominated for Best Actress at the Milan International Film Festival.
Dehlavi's next feature film was 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, Best Feature Film at the Delhi International Film Festival, Best Feature Film at the Honolulu Film Awards, the Bronze Palm Award at the Mexico International Film Festival and the Gold Remi at Worlfest Houston where Nik Xhelilaj won Best Actor and Alison Peebles was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. The film was nominated in 6 categories at the St Tropez International Film Festival where it won Best Original Screenplay and Alison Peebles won Best Lead Actress. It was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Phoenix Film Festival, Kate Maravan was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Milan International Film Festival where Dehlavi was also nominated for Best Production Design. Christopher Villiers was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Madrid International Film Festival.
Dehlavi's latest work is BLOOD MONEY, a short thriller based on a true story about an American CIA agent who is arrested in Karachi after shooting a young Pakistani mugger in the street and the US government is obliged to pay the deceased's family two million dollars of blood money to obtain his release. It was selected by the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival, it won Best Picture at the West Coast International Film Festival in the US, Best Drama Short at the Best Short Festival in Canada, Honorable Mention at the International Film Awards in Berlin and was a finalist at the Polish International Film Festival.
Fluent in five languages, Dehlavi has also worked on various projects for the BBC, Channel 4, 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. Retrospectives of his films have been held at the Karachi International Film Festival in 2006, Bite the Mango Film Festival in Bradford in 2007, the Grahamstown Arts Festival in South Africa in 2014, the British Film Institute in 2018, and the Lausanne Underground Film and Music Festival in 2021. This year he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for contribution to global cinema by the London Asian Film Festival Tongues on Fire.
Dehlavi has also worked in the Radio & Visual Services Division at the United Nations and was a Professor in the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Habib University in Karachi. His art work has been exhibited at UNESCO in Paris, at the Koel Gallery and the Amin Gulgee Gallery in Karachi, and he participated in the Karachi Biennale in 2017 and the Lahore Biennale in 2019.
While based in New York, he also trained as an actor with Stella Adler and made his first film TOWERS OF SILENCE. which he wrote, produced and directed, a practise he has continued with most of his work to date. The film was shown at numerous international festivals and won the Grand Prize for best experimental film at the Festival of the Americas.
His next film was an abstract essay on tyranny - THE BLOOD OF HUSSAIN, a fictional account of a military dictatorship and the revolutionary movement against it. Shot on location, 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, Dehlavi was forced to leave his country and live in exile. The film was selected by the Director's Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, won the Grand Prize at the Taormina film Festival, was nominated for a Golden Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival, won a Gold Award at Worldfest Houston and was the Critics' Choice at the London Film Festival.
Dehlavi escaped to London and made his next feature film BORN OF FIRE for Film Four International, 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 the Gold Special Jury Prize at Worldfest Houston and the Catalan Award at Imagfic Madrid. It was also In Competition at the Avoriaz Festival du Film Fantastique, and was nominated for a Golden Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival.
Under Benazir Bhutto's government, Dehlavi returned to Pakistan and was commissioned again by Film Four to make 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 western 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, a Gold Hugo nomination at the Chicago International Film Festival and was selected by Panorama at the Berlin International Film Festival.
In 1994 Dehlavi then produced PASSION IN THE DESERT for American director Lavinia Currier. Shot on location in Jordan, the film stars Ben Daniels and renowned French actor Michel Piccoli. Adapted from a Balzac short story, it 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 Festival of the Dhow Countries, Best International Film at the World Film Awards in Indonesia, the Gold Award at Worldfest Flagstaff and Best Foreign Film at Houston, and it 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. Loosely based on the Daniel Pearl murder, 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, Best European Feature Film 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, Best Feature Film at the Florence River to River Festival, the Special Jury Award at Worldfest Houston, and Raza Jaffrey won Best Supporting Actor at the KaraFilm Festival in Pakistan.
Dehlavi 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, it was nominated for Best Feature Film at the European Independent Film Festival in Paris, the Cairo International Film Festival, the Beverly Hills Film Festival and the Portobello Festival in London. Annabel Wright was nominated for Best Actress at the Milan International Film Festival.
Dehlavi's next feature film was 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, Best Feature Film at the Delhi International Film Festival, Best Feature Film at the Honolulu Film Awards, the Bronze Palm Award at the Mexico International Film Festival and the Gold Remi at Worlfest Houston where Nik Xhelilaj won Best Actor and Alison Peebles was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. The film was nominated in 6 categories at the St Tropez International Film Festival where it won Best Original Screenplay and Alison Peebles won Best Lead Actress. It was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Phoenix Film Festival, Kate Maravan was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Milan International Film Festival where Dehlavi was also nominated for Best Production Design. Christopher Villiers was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Madrid International Film Festival.
Dehlavi's latest work is BLOOD MONEY, a short thriller based on a true story about an American CIA agent who is arrested in Karachi after shooting a young Pakistani mugger in the street and the US government is obliged to pay the deceased's family two million dollars of blood money to obtain his release. It was selected by the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival, it won Best Picture at the West Coast International Film Festival in the US, Best Drama Short at the Best Short Festival in Canada, Honorable Mention at the International Film Awards in Berlin and was a finalist at the Polish International Film Festival.
Fluent in five languages, Dehlavi has also worked on various projects for the BBC, Channel 4, 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. Retrospectives of his films have been held at the Karachi International Film Festival in 2006, Bite the Mango Film Festival in Bradford in 2007, the Grahamstown Arts Festival in South Africa in 2014, the British Film Institute in 2018, and the Lausanne Underground Film and Music Festival in 2021. This year he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for contribution to global cinema by the London Asian Film Festival Tongues on Fire.
Dehlavi has also worked in the Radio & Visual Services Division at the United Nations and was a Professor in the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Habib University in Karachi. His art work has been exhibited at UNESCO in Paris, at the Koel Gallery and the Amin Gulgee Gallery in Karachi, and he participated in the Karachi Biennale in 2017 and the Lahore Biennale in 2019.
