Shamim Sarif

Shamim Sarif is a British novelist, screenwriter, and film director of Indian South African heritage. Sarif is best known for her work in writing and directing films with themes that often explore issues of identity and cultural diversity.

Early life and education

Sarif was born in London to Indian parents who had emigrated from South Africa in the early 1960s to escape apartheid. She studied English literature at Royal Holloway, University of London and later completed a Master's degree in English at Boston University.

Sarif's debut novel, The World Unseen, won a Betty Trask Award in 2002 and the Pendleton May First Novel Award. The novel explores issues of race, gender and sexuality and was heavily inspired by the stories of Sarif's grandmother and her Indian and South African heritage.
Sarif has adapted and directed the films of three of her novels including The World Unseen, which was selected for the Toronto International Film Festival, I Can't Think Straight, and Despite the Falling Snow.
Her 2011 film The House of Tomorrow is a documentary about the 2010 TEDx Holy Land Conference, which brought together Arab and Israeli women to discuss issues of mutual interest in technology, entertainment, and design.
Her latest books, The Athena Protocol and The Shadow Mission , represent a departure from her more familiar themes of romance and LGBTQ+ relationships, as it falls into the action-adventure and espionage genre.
Sarif and her wife founded the production company Enlightenment Productions.
In 2019 Sarif was invited to join the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
In 2023 she directed an episode of the Netflix series You.
In 2025, she served as co-executive producer and directed an episode of the BBC drama The Split Up, starring Ritu Arya and Sanjeev Bhaskar. She also serves as lead director on the upcoming Netflix and WildBrain series Finding Her Edge, directing five of the show's eight episodes. The series premiered on January 22, 2026.