# Ali Kazimi

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Indian-born Canadian film director

For Pakistani–Canadian actor, see [Ali Kazmi](/source/Ali_Kazmi).

**Ali Kazimi** D.Litt. (born 1961) is an Indo-Canadian filmmaker, media artist and writer.[1]

## Early life and education

Born, raised and educated in India, Kazimi attended [St. Columba's School](/source/St._Columba's_School%2C_Delhi) and graduated from [St. Stephen's College](/source/St._Stephen's_College%2C_Delhi), [Delhi University](/source/Delhi_University) in 1982. He was awarded a scholarship to study film production at [York University](/source/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.[2]

## 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](/source/Gemini_Award), Golden Conch ([MIFF](/source/Mumbai_International_Film_Festival) 2006), Gold Plaque ([Chicago International Film Festival](/source/Chicago_International_Film_Festival), 1995), [Golden Gate Award](/source/San_Francisco_International_Film_Festival), ([San Francisco International Film Festival](/source/San_Francisco_International_Film_Festival), 1995) and Best Director Award ([Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival](/source/Hot_Docs_Canadian_International_Documentary_Festival), 1995).[3]

## Honours

Kazimi was named the Best Documentarian in Toronto by [NOW Magazine](/source/Now_(newspaper))'s Best of Toronto 2005.[4]

In 2019, Kazimi was one of 8 recipients of the [Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts](/source/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."[5][6] The same year he also received an honorary degree, D.Litt. *honoris causa* from the University of British Columbia.[7]

He was elected as a Senior Fellow of Massey College in 2021[8] and as Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2023.[9]

In May 2025, he became the fourth recipient of the Fire Horse Award given by the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival.[10]

## Films

- *[Narmada: A Valley Rises](/source/Narmada%3A_A_Valley_Rises)* (1994)

- *Shooting Indians* (1997)

- *Some Kind of Arrangement* (1998)

- *[Continuous Journey](/source/Continuous_Journey_(film))* (2004)

- *[Runaway Grooms](/source/Runaway_Grooms)* (2005)

- *Random Acts of Legacy* (2016)

- *Beyond Extinction:Sinixt Resurgence* (2022)

## Book

- *Undesirables: White Canada and the Komagata Maru – An Illustrated History*[11] (2012)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["CBC Film Screenings for Asian Heritage Month"](http://www.cbc.ca/asianheritage/2008/04/cbc_vancouver_community_films.html). [Canadian Broadcasting Corporation](/source/Canadian_Broadcasting_Corporation). 23 April 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Faculty"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDfgew7eq7A). *www.youtube.com*. York U. Retrieved 21 November 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["People"](https://ampd.yorku.ca/people/ali-kazimi). *ampd.yorku.ca*. York U. Retrieved 21 November 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Best of Toronto – Film"](https://nowtoronto.com/news/best-of-toronto-film/). 27 October 2005.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Ali Kazimi"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190308002932/https://ggavma.canadacouncil.ca/ali-kazimi). Archived from [the original](https://ggavma.canadacouncil.ca/ali-kazimi) on 8 March 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Ali Kazimi Wins Governor General's Award – Point of View Magazine"](http://povmagazine.com/blog/view/ali-kazimi-wins-governor-generals-award).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["2019 Honorary Degree Recipients | Graduation at UBC"](https://graduation.ubc.ca/event/honorary-degrees/2019-honorary-degree-recipients/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ampdadmin (1 April 2022). ["Prof Ali Kazimi appointed Senior Fellow at University of Toronto's Massey College » School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design"](https://ampd.yorku.ca/prof-ali-kazimi-appointed-senior-fellow-at-university-of-torontos-massey-college/). *School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20251215110707/https://ampd.yorku.ca/prof-ali-kazimi-appointed-senior-fellow-at-university-of-torontos-massey-college/) from the original on 15 December 2025. Retrieved 15 February 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Begic, Sanja (6 September 2023). ["Two LA&PS faculty members elected to Royal Society of Canada"](https://www.yorku.ca/laps/newsroom/2023/09/06/two-laps-faculty-members-elected-to-royal-society-of-canada/). *LA&PS Newsroom*. Retrieved 15 February 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Unveiling the 2025 Fire Horse Award Recipient Ali Kazimi"](https://www.reelasian.com/ali-kazimi-2025-fire-horse-award/). *Reel Asian*. 17 April 2025. Retrieved 15 February 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Sajoo, Eva (20 September 2012). ["Canada hasn't left undesirable days behind"](https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/book-review-the-undesirables-by-ali-kazimi). *Vancouver Sun*.

## External links

- [Official web site](http://www.Alikazimi.ca/)

- [Ali Kazimi](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005629/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND WorldCat National United States Israel People DDB Other Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ali Kazimi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Kazimi) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Kazimi?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.