2021 Princess Grace Award
Nominated by: University of California, Los Angeles
Zahida Pirani is a writer-director based in NYC and LA. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Directing at UCLA. Zahida is the recipient of the Jack Nicholson Distinguished Student Director Award, the Joel Siegel Fellowship, the Delia Salvi Memorial Award and UCLA’s Directors Spotlight Award for her narrative short film El Carrito. Zahida previously directed and produced the award-winning documentary Judith: Portrait of a Street Vendor which premiered at the Queens Museum in NYC and is distributed by Third World Newsreel. Before becoming a filmmaker, Zahida worked as a community organizer for various social justice organizations. She holds a B.A. from UC Berkeley in Comparative Literature and Religious Studies and an M.A. in Social/Cultural Anthropology from the New School for Social Research.
Photo credit: first photo Salvador Espinoza, all other photos Tanbir Haque