Pratibha Parmar

Directing

Pratibha Parmar

Born February 11, 1955 · Nairobi, Kenya (age 71)

Pratibha Parmar is a British filmmaker who has directed numerous award-winning films for BBC, Channel 4, ITVS, PBS and European broadcaster. Her work has also had theatrical distribution. Her credits include Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth, a feature length documentary on the life of Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Color Purple and includes interviews with Steven Spielberg, Danny Glover and Qui…

Known For

My Name Is AndreaMy Name Is Andrea · 2022
My Name Is Andrea
3.82022
MovieDocumentary
A rousing portrait of feminist writer Andrea Dworkin, one of the most controversial and misunderstood figures of the 20th century, who fought passionately for justice and equality for women.
WavelengthsWavelengths · 1999
Wavelengths
3.01999
MovieDramaRomance
A woman searches for emotionally safer sex via gay bars and the internet.
Nina's Heavenly DelightsNina's Heavenly Delights · 2006
Nina's Heavenly Delights
6.72006
MovieRomanceComedy
A feisty young woman returns to Glasgow to run her deceased father's curry house.
The Righteous BabesThe Righteous Babes · 1998
The Righteous Babes
3.31998
MovieDocumentaryMusic
The Righteous Babes shows how the self-affirmative music of young women is renewing the 90's feminism. In the film, audience can experience feminism not in the library but in the rock concert hall. The film shows interviews and performances. In addition, controversial feminists along with American and British women journalists share their views on pop culture.
Alice Walker: Beauty in TruthAlice Walker: Beauty in Truth · 2013
Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth
3.52013
MovieDocumentaryHistory
The compelling story of an extraordinary woman's journey from her birth in a paper thin shack in the cotton fields of Georgia to her recognition as a key writer of the twentieth Century.Walker made history as the first black woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for her groundbreaking novel, The Color Purple.
EmergenceEmergence · 1986
Emergence
10.01986
MovieDocumentary
Four Black and Third World women artists, among them African American feminist poet Audre Lorde and Palestinian performance artist Mona Hatoum, speak forcefully through their art and writing.
Warrior MarksWarrior Marks · 1994
Warrior Marks
7.01994
MovieDocumentary
WARRIOR MARKS is a poetic and political film about female genital mutilation from the director of A PLACE OF RAGE, presented by the Pulitzer Prize winning author of THE COLOR PURPLE and POSSESSING THE SECRET OF JOY. Female genital mutilation affects one hundred million of the world’s women and this remarkable film unlocks some of the cultural and political complexities surrounding this issue. Interviews with women from Senegal, Gambia, Burkino Faso, the United States and England who are concerned with and affected by genital mutilation are intercut with Walker’s own personal reflections on the subject.
Memsahib RitaMemsahib Rita · 1994
Memsahib Rita
8.01994
MovieDrama
Using a blend of magic realism and realist drama, Memsahib Rita looks at the physical and emotional violence of racism. Shanti is haunted by both the racist taunts of nationalist white youths and the memory of her white mother.

Filmography

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Flesh and PaperFlesh and Paper · 1990
Flesh and Paper
8.01990
Movie
FLESH AND PAPER is a lyrical exploration of the sense and sensibilities of Indian lesbian poet and writer, Suniti Bamjoshi. This moving and powerful portrait of a unique and brave woman weaves Namjoshi’s life and writings into a sensual tapestry. Born into an Indian royal family, Namjoshi discusses her reasons for leaving India (she fell in love with her best friend), and her experiences as a cultural outsider in the U.S. Showing how “language invents worlds,” her vision as an Indian lesbian feminist is informed both by a lesbian consciousness and a deep Indian cultural framework. A prolific writer who has been widely published in the U.K., Canada and India over the past twenty years, Namjoshi’s poems, fables and novels are characterized by her wit and wry, satirical sense of humor. FLESH AND PAPER, captures the spirit of Namjoshi’s poetry in an evocative, multi-layered way.

Director

Bhangra JigBhangra Jig · 1990
Bhangra Jig
1990
Movie
A young South Asian woman walks through the city of Glasgow, once the second largest city of the British Empire. Her eyes reflect on the wealth symbolised in the textures of the city’s architecture. Signs of Empire ever present in the stone freizes, imposing cast iron statues of dead colonialists, ornate pillars and the opulence of marble. Against histories of colonial carnage, Asian people build our communities and cultures, forging identities of self-affirmation. Against echoes of colonial memories is the living memory of today’s cultures of resistance: through dance and music, young Asian people celebrate desire and self pride. Bhangra Jig disrupts dominant notions of European culture and offers new meanings of what constitutes national cultures and identities, of what it means to be Asian, British and European. It was a four-minute television intervention piece, commissioned by Channel 4 celebrating Glasgow as the European cultural capital for 1990.

Director