Saira Shah (born 5 October 1964) is a British author, reporter and documentary filmmaker. She produces, writes and narrates current affairs films.

Life

Shah was born in London and raised in Kent, England. She was educated at Bryanston School and read Arabic and Persian at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, graduating in 1986. Her father was Idries Shah, an Indian-Afghan and half-Scottish writer of books on Sufism. Part of his family was originally from Paghman, Afghanistan. Her mother is half-Indian Parsi and half-English. and she also has a sister, Tahir's twin, Safia Shah.

Shah currently lives between London and rural France with her partner, journalist and photographer Scott Goodfellow, and their son and daughter Hamish and Rosie Goodfellow. Ailsa Goodfellow, their first daughter, died, suddenly, of a pulmonary embolism early in 2017. Shah said: "Ailsa inspired me to write a novel, The Mouse-Proof Kitchen, based on her life, which was published in 2013. By then Ailsa had become our teacher, demonstrating how to live with courage, patience and joy – and proving that the essence of humanity lies far deeper than mere development." In 2004, Shah won a Current Affairs BAFTA Award for Death in Gaza and in 2005 the film won three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Cinematography For Nonfiction Programming (Single Or Multi-Camera), Outstanding Directing For Nonfiction Programming and Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking (Shah sharing one award as a producer and being a nominee for another as a writer). Shah also appeared on the television programme Breakfast with Frost on 10 August 2003.

Films

  • Beneath the Veil
  • Death in Gaza
  • Unholy War

Film companies

  • Frostbite Productions

Books

Newspaper and magazine articles

Interviews

Reviews

Awards

  • 2002 Royal Television Society – Best International Current Affairs – Beneath the Veil
  • 2002 Royal Television Society – Programme of the Year – Beneath the Veil
  • 2002 One World Media Award – Beneath the Veil
  • 2002 SAIS-Novartis International Journalism Award – Beneath the Veil
  • 2002 Mo Amin Courage Under Fire Award – Saira Shah
  • 2002 International Documentary Association Courage Under Fire Award – Saira Shah
  • 2002 News and Documentary Emmy awards – Winner of Outstanding Investigative journalism – Beneath the Veil
  • 2002 News and Documentary Emmy awards – Nomination for Best documentary – Beneath the Veil
  • 2005 BAFTA – Best current affairs film – Death in Gaza
  • 2005 Emmy – Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking – Death in Gaza

See also

  • James Miller (filmmaker)

References

  • Interview with CNN
  • List of publications by Saira Shah and her family members (works by Idries Shah not included)
  • Saira Shah's page, Conville and Walsh literary agency (Archived)

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