Episode 44 - Raisah Ahmed

In today’s episode we chat with the amazing Scottish Screenwriter and Director Raisah Ahamed. During the episode we discuss everything from being a woman and a Muslim woman in film to giving up caffeine. It is a wonderful discussion and Raisah is a total inspiration. We have serious woman crush going on. Raisah entered the industry through an apprenticeship scheme called Second Light, run by First Light and supported by Creative Scotland, Pinewood Studios and Barbara Broccoli. Her first short as a writer, ‘Last Order’, was commissioned through Second Light, her first short as writer/director, ‘Meet Me By The Water’, was commissioned by the Scottish Film Talent Network as part of New Talent Shorts 2015 and premiered in competition at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2016. The Feature Script for ‘Meet Me By The Water’ was developed through Screenwriting residencies with Playwrights Studio Scotland and Binger Labs Amsterdam in 2011, under mentorship of Olivia Stewart, it was shortlisted for the Sundance Writers Lab 2015. Her first film as a writer/director, Magda, premiered in competition at the Glasgow Short Film Festival 2015. Raisah is alumni of the EIFF Talent Lab 2014 and a Creative Scotland Artists Bursary awardee for the development of her second feature script ‘Safar’, a female road trip film about two sisters that drive their elderly Gran from Scotland to Pakistan. Safar went on to be shortlisted for the Sundance Writers Lab 2018 and is currently in development with Producer Zorana Piggott and the Scottish Film Talent Network. Her third feature script ‘Half-Moon Camp’, a WW1 film set in a German prisoner of war camp for Muslim prisoners, has been developed through the Adapt to Film scheme run by Broadway Cinema Nottingham, Skillset & The BFI and is currently in development with producer Zorana Piggott and Film4. Recently she has gained her first Television directing credit with BBC 3’s ‘The Break’ and her first Television writing credit with the Cbeebies ‘Feeling Better’. As well as her feature projects she is currently working on ‘Tightrope’, an art installation, that has been developed through the B3 Media Talent Lab. She is also developing a new short film as writer/director – Last Story – a dystopian tale of a dying world in a which a couple struggle with an unplanned pregnancy. Raisah is interested in both strong character led films with interesting BAME female protagonists and stories that reveal hidden histories. Her dream is to one day write and direct the Lois Lane movie, with a woman of colour in the lead role. What a bio! This is why we are girl crushing... Anyway, you can follow Raisah on twitter: @RaisahAhmed And we hope you all enjoy todays episode and remember to Stay Nasty. You can support Persistent & Nasty and receive exclusive members only content by subscribing to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/persistentandnasty Twitter: @PersistentNasty Instagram: @PersistentandNasty Persistent and Nasty is produced in association with Edinburgh based live-arts production house Civil Disobedience. Civil Disobedience is committed to creating and supporting queer work and theatre and art that addresses issues of inequality and injustice. You can find out more about the Persistent and Nasty project and all the work that Civil Disobedience do by visiting wearecivildisobedience.com. You can also find us on all the usual social media platforms. On Twitter @weareohsocivil On Instagram @wearecivildisobedience And on Facebook at Facebook.com/wearecivildisobedience