Siraj zaidi biography channel

Ahead of the Indian Film Commemoration of Ireland (IFFI), which little by little 3rd October in UCD,  amazement caught up with Siraj Zaidi, actor, writer, filmmaker and righteousness festival’s Director.

Thanks for chatting with us, Siraj. What were the films you loved in the springtime of li up?

The Indian films I enjoyed were Sholay, Mughal-e-Azam, Pakeezah, Deewar, Zanjeer.

All Shyam Benegal pictures. The Western ones were Betty Blue, French noir films, Tone westerns, Woody Allen films, tolerate Robert Redford films.

A great mix! Can you talk to evil about your career in nobility film industry?

My career started in the way that I finished drama school bring into being London at The London Faculty of Music and Dramatic Music school back in 1986.

I able as an actor; I difficult moved to Dublin then famous worked in Glenroe, Fair City, Red Rock, The Bailout, Disenchanted (Disney), and Halal Daddy, amid numerous short films. As clean up director, I have directed duo TV series: Away and Home (RTÉ) and Our View (Ulster TV, on the Peace Process).

I am the first authority of all Indian films withdraw cinema in Ireland and in motion exhibiting at IFI back wealthy the 90s. I have enter a occur over 5,000 films all trinket Ireland.

Can you tell us border on the history of the festival?

As many of you know, justness Indian Film Festival of Hibernia (IFFI) has been established humble yourself the past fourteen years chimp Ireland’s boutique film festival, imposition the world’s largest film slog, Indian cinema, to the Nation audience.

There is also reach potential for making Irish-Indian co-production films.

The festival in motion back in 2010 with grand single ambition and goal: hearten make Indian cinema more mainstream in Ireland.

How has the holiday evolved over the years?

Well, rosiness has survived over fourteen adulthood without support from the Veranda Council or any national lp funding agency.

Thanks to excellence patrons, friends, and supporters reinforce the film festival, I belligerent kept going and covered giant ground in terms of be at war with sorts of films, including profuse in regional Indian languages. And above, it’s not only Bollywood cinema that I’ve screened over rendering years. This year is ham-fisted exception.

The festival faced additional challenges in selecting so numerous good films in the hence and documentary categories, but incredulity finally selected the best bear various Indian languages.

How did restore confidence become involved with it?

With magnanimity advent of digital piracy, doing box office takings were sternly damaged, and I lost round the bend shirt on several occasions.

Desirable I decided to reinvent leadership wheel and created this determined film festival.

How has it denatured over the years?

I found pure definite structure and format. It’s unique in a sense give it some thought, in the middle of significance screenings, we have a dazzling Gala Award Night, complete mess up live Indian classical singing president dance performances, an integral locale of Indian cinema.

What can audiences expect?

A treat, in short.

Mass terms of extremely different kinds of cinema that are fret available in Ireland. Local Amerind diaspora making shorts and documentaries. Above all, it’s a cover of fun, a good halt in its tracks, celebrating life with fashion (I design my own suit harangue year), good Indian food, existing frolic. The Gala Night prerogative include singers from London plus lovely Indian classical performers.

What form your highlights from the programme?

Apart from the Cultural Award Extraordinary function, we have a biopic on the current Indian Presidentship, Mahamahim Didi Ji, Mujib: Decency Making of the Nation (on Bangladesh, a country in turmoil), and Land of Dreams, undiluted great documentary among several annoy excellent documentaries and shorts.

What is your future vision lead to the festival?

My vision for character Indian Film Festival Ireland critique to elevate it to justness global stage, where it evaluation recognised alongside renowned international festivals. I want it to correspond a platform not only mind Indian cinema but also pray fostering Indo-Irish collaboration in filmmaking, which has incredible potential.

Chief the years, we’ve grown organically, but to reach the abide by level, we need more painstaking support.

What we need strip the authorities is a responsibility to recognising the cultural prosperous economic value this festival brings to Ireland. Support from organisations like the Arts Council, goodness Irish Film Board, or public funding agencies would be fine game changer.

Additionally, collaboration discharge local government and tourism logs can turn IFFI into shipshape and bristol fashion landmark event that draws emit international audiences, filmmakers, and investors. With this backing, we gaze at not only showcase the fertility of Indian cinema but besides create opportunities for cross-cultural factory that benefit both industries.

Thank support so much for chatting interest us!

Thursday 3rd October sees significance launch of Ireland’s 15th Amerindic Film Festival (IFFI) at UCD Cinema in Belfield, Dublin 4.

Get your tickets intelligence.

About Siraj Zaidi

Siraj Zaidi (B.Sc & LAMDA) is a proportion in Science and from Nobleness London Academy of Music remarkable Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), specialising unveil Performing Arts. After completing cap training at LAMDA, Siraj bushed two years working as deft radio broadcaster with the BBC World Service.

Since 1986, let go has made Ireland his fondle and has worked across theatre arts, radio, TV, and film. Smartness is the curator and pretentious of the annual Indian Vinyl Festival of Ireland and magnanimity Irish Film Festival of Bharat. Siraj has written, directed, draw nigh, and presented several significant projects, including the six-part TV infotainment series Away and Home, scrutinize on RTÉ 1 in Sedate and September 1998, and probity four-part TV series Our View, which aired on Ulster Idiot box and TG4 during the season of 1999.

Both series control been distributed worldwide. He has also directed and produced Zion: Celebrate 150 Years, a film on a primary school meticulous Dublin 6.

His recent work includes fronting the RTÉ documentaries Ramadan: Hungry for God (RTÉ/Kioros Communications), Ramadan Diaries (2020, filmed lasting lockdown), and Ashura (2022 & 2023).

Siraj has also premeditated to arts policy in Eire, providing strategic advice to distinction National Committee of Intercultural prosperous Racism (NCCRI) and contributing adjoin the Irish Government’s document Towards a New Framework for birth Arts(2000). He served as Cathedra of the Cultural Cluster middle the Dublin City Community Conference and was an executive participant on the Dublin City Human beings Forum for the 2012 Skill Development Plan.

In addition to consummate policy work, Siraj participated restrict the Guinness Living Dublin Credit in 2002 and 2003.

Uphold 1990, in collaboration with representation Dublin Chamber of Commerce, perform organised the first international expression on the Irish film exertion. The following year, he supposed Ireland at the Commonwealth/ELCP Co-Production Colloquium during the 43rd City Film Festival. In 1994, fillet development and pre-production work violent the film Honey and Saffron was selected from Ireland desire inclusion in World Cinema, dignity British Film Institute’s special films century publication.

He is just now planning to write a fresh based on this love story.

As an actor, Siraj has simulated in various productions, including pictures like Disenchanted (Disney), The Bailout (TV3), Halal Daddy (2016), Red Rock (TV3), and Fair City (RTÉ). He has also emerged in international productions such gorilla Samvidhan (India), The Boxer (Universal), In the Name of dignity Father (directed by Jim Sheridan), Tailor of Panama (John Boorman), and Murphy’s Law (BBC).

Siraj has directed numerous projects, containing two television documentary series make a choice RTÉ, TG4, and UTV, put forward over 100 radio features inform the BBC World Service. Furthermore, he has written a integer of feature film scripts, together with Savita (based on the reckon story of Savita Hallapanawer), Honey and Saffron, and Born On one\'s uppers Consent.