{{Short description|Indian-born Canadian film director}} {{For|Pakistani–Canadian actor|Ali Kazmi}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
'''Ali Kazimi''' D.Litt. (born 1961) is an Indo-Canadian filmmaker, media artist and writer.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/asianheritage/2008/04/cbc_vancouver_community_films.html|title=CBC Film Screenings for Asian Heritage Month|date=23 April 2008|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]|access-date=16 May 2010}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Born, raised and educated in India, Kazimi attended [[St. Columba's School, Delhi|St. Columba's School]] and graduated from [[St. Stephen's College, Delhi|St. Stephen's College]], [[Delhi University]] in 1982. He was awarded a scholarship to study film production at [[York University]] in Toronto, Canada, in 1983 and graduated with BFA (honours) from the Department of Film in 1987. He joined the Department of Film, as a full-time faculty member in 2006 and served as the chair of what is now known as the Department of Cinema and Media Arts from 2015 to 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=Faculty |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDfgew7eq7A |website=www.youtube.com |publisher=York U |access-date=21 November 2025}}</ref>
==Films== Kazimi has created a critically acclaimed body of work dealing with issues of race, immigration, history and social justice. His films have won more than thirty awards and nominations including the [[Gemini Award]], Golden Conch ([[Mumbai International Film Festival|MIFF]] 2006), Gold Plaque ([[Chicago International Film Festival]], 1995), [[San Francisco International Film Festival|Golden Gate Award]], ([[San Francisco International Film Festival]], 1995) and Best Director Award ([[Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival]], 1995).<ref>{{cite web |title=People |url=https://ampd.yorku.ca/people/ali-kazimi |website=ampd.yorku.ca |publisher=York U |access-date=21 November 2025}}</ref>
==Honours== Kazimi was named the Best Documentarian in Toronto by [[Now (newspaper)|NOW Magazine]]'s Best of Toronto 2005.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://nowtoronto.com/news/best-of-toronto-film/ |title = Best of Toronto – Film|date = 27 October 2005}}</ref>
In 2019, Kazimi was one of 8 recipients of the [[Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts]] – "Kazimi's lovingly rendered and profoundly insightful works demonstrate a deep-rooted empathy for his subjects, a singular cinematic eye, and an unflinching commitment to shedding light on difficult truths."<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://ggavma.canadacouncil.ca/ali-kazimi | title=Ali Kazimi | access-date=14 July 2019 | archive-date=8 March 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308002932/https://ggavma.canadacouncil.ca/ali-kazimi | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://povmagazine.com/blog/view/ali-kazimi-wins-governor-generals-award | title=Ali Kazimi Wins Governor General's Award – Point of View Magazine}}</ref> The same year he also received an honorary degree, D.Litt. ''honoris causa'' from the University of British Columbia.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://graduation.ubc.ca/event/honorary-degrees/2019-honorary-degree-recipients/ | title=2019 Honorary Degree Recipients | Graduation at UBC}}</ref>
He was elected as a Senior Fellow of Massey College in 2021<ref>{{Cite news |last=ampdadmin |date=2022-04-01 |title=Prof Ali Kazimi appointed Senior Fellow at University of Toronto's Massey College » School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design |url=https://ampd.yorku.ca/prof-ali-kazimi-appointed-senior-fellow-at-university-of-torontos-massey-college/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251215110707/https://ampd.yorku.ca/prof-ali-kazimi-appointed-senior-fellow-at-university-of-torontos-massey-college/ |archive-date=15 December 2025 |access-date=2026-02-15 |work=School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design |language=en-US |url-status=live }}</ref> and as Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Begic |first=Sanja |date=2023-09-06 |title=Two LA&PS faculty members elected to Royal Society of Canada |url=https://www.yorku.ca/laps/newsroom/2023/09/06/two-laps-faculty-members-elected-to-royal-society-of-canada/ |access-date=2026-02-15 |website=LA&PS Newsroom |language=en-CA}}</ref>
In May 2025, he became the fourth recipient of the Fire Horse Award given by the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-17 |title=Unveiling the 2025 Fire Horse Award Recipient Ali Kazimi |url=https://www.reelasian.com/ali-kazimi-2025-fire-horse-award/ |access-date=2026-02-15 |website=Reel Asian |language=en-US}} </ref>
==Films== * ''[[Narmada: A Valley Rises]]'' (1994) * ''Shooting Indians'' (1997) * ''Some Kind of Arrangement'' (1998) * ''[[Continuous Journey (film)|Continuous Journey]]'' (2004) * ''[[Runaway Grooms]]'' (2005) * ''Random Acts of Legacy'' (2016) * ''Beyond Extinction:Sinixt Resurgence'' (2022)
==Book== * ''Undesirables: White Canada and the Komagata Maru – An Illustrated History''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sajoo |first=Eva |date=2012-09-20 |title=Canada hasn't left undesirable days behind |url=https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/book-review-the-undesirables-by-ali-kazimi |website=Vancouver Sun}}</ref> (2012)
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.Alikazimi.ca/ Official web site] *{{IMDb name|0005629}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kazimi, Ali}} [[Category:1961 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Canadian film educators]] [[Category:Canadian cinematographers]] [[Category:Canadian documentary film directors]] [[Category:Canadian Muslims]] [[Category:Film directors from Toronto]] [[Category:Indian emigrants to Canada]] [[Category:Indian Muslims]] [[Category:Delhi University alumni]] [[Category:York University alumni]] [[Category:Academic staff of York University]] [[Category:Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts winners]] [[Category:Asian-Canadian filmmakers]]