Shamim Sarif

Shamim Sarif (born 24 September 1969) 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. 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 (2001), which was selected for the Toronto International Film Festival, I Can't Think Straight (2008), and Despite the Falling Snow (2016). Also in (2023), Sarif wrote and directed the feature film Polarized, which won the People's Pick award at the 2023 Canadian Film Festival.

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 (2019) and The Shadow Mission (The Athena Protocol #2) (2020), 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.

Filmography Film Year Title Director Writer Notes 2007 The World Unseen Feature film, adapted from Sarif's novel 2008 I Can't Think Straight Feature film, based on Sarif's novel 2011 The House of Tomorrow Documentary film 2016 Despite the Falling Snow Feature film, also based on Sarif's novel 2020 Ann Rule's A House on Fire TV film 2023 Polarized Feature film

TV series Year Title Director Writer Notes 2020 Murdoch Mysteries directed episode: "Rigid Silence" 2021–2022 Diggstown directed 3 episodes 2022 SkyMed directed 2 episodes2023 You directed episode: "Eat the Rich" Moonshine directed 2 episodes Sort of directed 4 episodes 2023–2024 The Way Home directed 6 episodes 2024 Sullivan's Crossing directed 2 episodes 2026 Finding Her Edge directed 5 episodes TBA The Split Up Also co-executive producer