Sana Bilgrami
Sana Bilgrami

Ms Sana Bilgrami

Lecturer T&R

Biography

Sana Bilgrami, born in Pakistan, is an award-winning documentary film director and researcher. In her films, she explores cross-cultural identity and belonging through a variety of stories. She experiments with different techniques, frequently using 8mm film, archive and intimate voice-over.

She leads and teaches introductory and advanced level documentary film practice to undergraduate Film students at Edinburgh Napier University.

Her practice-based research interests include the use of archive and personal voice, the interrogation of cross-cultural identity, and the interstices of history and geographical spaces in documentary films. She is interested in portrait films, essay films, and the crossover with/use of fiction in documentary film.

Her broadcast credits include 'Tree Fellers' (STV, 2004), shortlisted for a BAFTA Scotland Award, 'Across the Waters' (BBC Scotland, 2004), shortlisted for a Satyajit Ray Award, and she was one of ten directors of 'New Ten Commandments' (BBC Scotland, 2008). Her Masters degree film, 'Under My Skin' (2001), won awards at Scottish Students on Screen, was shortlisted for the Saltire Grierson award at Edinburgh Film Festival, and won Best Documentary at Chichester Film Festival.

Her short documentary, 'Fragments of A Love Story' (2013), was exhibited at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. In 2015, she filmed, directed and edited seventeen short documentary portrait films for a series called ‘Artist Uncovered’, commissioned by charity Art in Healthcare.

She is developing a feature-length documentary film, ‘The Album’, produced by BOFA Productions. ‘The Album’ is a personal and historical exploration of cross-cultural identity. The project received a development grant from Creative Scotland, after being selected for the Edinburgh Pitch in 2017.

In 2020, she was awarded a grant from Royal Society of Edinburgh to carry out theoretical and practice-based research on the Representation of South Asian Women in Scottish Cinema.

During lockdown in the pandemic, she co-curated an international visual-art exhibition, 'Landscape of Memory' (2020, online), bringing together the works of five Pakistani artists and five Scottish artists, alongside a series of webinars on the themes of Place, Process and Memory.

In 2021, after receiving a 'Connect and Collaborate grant' from British Council and Creative Scotland, she designed and curated an international artist residency 'Ecologies of Displacement' that culminated in multimedia exhibitions at Koel Gallery in Pakistan (January 2022) and Summerhall, Edinburgh (July 2022).

Esteem

Advisory panels and expert committees or witness

  • Consultant for PG Diploma and BA Minor in Film Production programmes: Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi, Pakistan 2008

 

Conference Organising Activity

  • 'I Am': Exploring Multiplicity of Voice and Identity in First Person Self-Reflexive Documentary Film Practice
  • 'Fragments of a Love Story': Inscribing Meaning and Re-Imagining Narratives through Archive

 

Fellowships and Awards

  • Satyajit Ray Award Nomination 2005
  • BAFTA Scotland for Best Television Documentary Nomination 2004
  • Grierson Award for Best Scottish Documentary Nomination 2002
  • Winner Best Documentary Film, Chichester International Film Festival 2002

 

Invited Speaker

  • Conference Talk: Visible Evidence, Gdansk, Poland, August 2022
  • Conference Talk: MeCCSA 'Silenced Voices', Aberdeen, September 2022
  • Conference Talk: International Media Education Summit, Leeds, April 2021
  • BAFTSS Practice Research SIG Seminar: Family and Autoethnography, online, 25th November 2020
  • Conference talk: 'The power of the metaphorical: reflections and diffractions in archival research', London, 13th March 2017

 

Media Activity

  • Film Review: 'Tree Fellers', Eye For Film, 8th March 2021
  • Online article: Youlin Magazine: 'Art Review: Landscape of Memory at Koel Gallery' 2020
  • Interview: The Express Tribune Newspaper, Pakistan, 26th March 2013
  • Newspaper Article: 'Art Fiend: No Clash of Civilisations Here', Dawn newspaper, Pakistan, 12 May 2013
  • Broadcast screening: 'New Ten Commandments' on BBC Two Scotland, 7th December 2008
  • Broadcast Screening: 'Across the Waters' on BBC2 Scotland, 7th March 2005
  • Broadcast Screening: 'Tree Fellers' on STV, 29th June 2004

 

Public/Community Engagement

  • Festival Screening: Glasgow International Film festival, 2021
  • Public Webinar Artists' Talk: 'Memory and Process' 2020
  • Public Webinar Artists' Talk: 'Memory and Place' 2020
  • Public Webinar Artists' Talk: 'Memory and Perception' 2020
  • Public screenings and discussion: Black History Month, Edinburgh and Glasgow, October 2018
  • The Edinburgh Pitch at Edinburgh International Film Festival 2016
  • Gallery screenings and panel discussions at touring exhibition: ‘Migrant-egrations’ in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, Pakistan 2013
  • Public Screening: 'Film Lounge' - Africa in Motion: Immigration Stories at Stills Gallery, Edinburgh, October 2013
  • Public Screening: BBC Big Screen, Edinburgh, August 2013
  • Public Screening: 'Second Sight: Film Lounge' at Stills Gallery, Edinburgh, July 2013
  • Public Talk: 'Migration Stories in Focus' at Scottish National Portrait Gallery, June 2012
  • Museum Exhibition Screening: 'Migration Stories: Pakistan' exhibition at Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 2011-12
  • Festival Screening: Zinebi Film Festival, Bilbao, Spain 2010
  • International Festival Screening: Expresion en Corto Film Festival, Mexico 2009
  • Festival Screening: Cambridge Film Festival 2008
  • Festival Screening: Edinburgh International Film Festival 2008
  • Festival Screening: Sheffield Documentary Film Festival 2008
  • Festival Screening: Tampere Film Festival, Finland 2006
  • Festival Screening: Le Festival Cote Court, Bobigny, France 2006
  • Festival Screening: Britspotting, Berlin, Leipzig, Germany and Basel, Switzerland, 2005
  • Festival Screening: Madrid Experimental Cinema Festival, Spain 2005
  • Festival Screening: Commonwealth Film Festival, Manchester 2005
  • Festival Screening: International Human Rights Festival, Glasgow 2005
  • Festival Screening: International Human Rights Festival, Glasgow 2005
  • Festival Screening: Ludwigsburg International European Short Film Biennale, Germany 2005
  • Festival Screening: International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film, Germany 2004
  • Sheffield International Documentary Festival 2004

 

Date


27 results

Curation: 'Ecologies of Displacement' Art Exhibition (Summerhall, Scotland)

Exhibition / Performance
Bilgrami, S. Curation: 'Ecologies of Displacement' Art Exhibition (Summerhall, Scotland)
[Curation of art works]. Exhibited at Meadows and Corner Galleries, Summerhall, Edinburgh, Scotland. 29 July 2022 - 25 September 2022. (Unpublished
In 2021, I brought together Summerhall, Edinburgh, and Koel Gallery, Karachi, to host an international digital artist residency. We won a 25k 'Connect and Collaborate' grant f...

Curation: 'Ecologies of Displacement' Art Exhibition (Koel Gallery, Pakistan)

Exhibition / Performance
Bilgrami, S. (2022)
Curation: 'Ecologies of Displacement' Art Exhibition (Koel Gallery, Pakistan). [Curation of art works]. Exhibited at Koel Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan. 18 January 2022 - 2 February 2022. (Unpublished
In 2021, I brought together Summerhall, Edinburgh, and Koel Gallery, Karachi, to host an international digital artist residency. We won a 25k 'Connect and Collaborate' grant f...

'Landscape of Memory' International Online Art Exhibition

Exhibition / Performance
Bilgrami, S., & Peracha, M. (2020)
'Landscape of Memory' International Online Art Exhibition. [Curation of artworks]. Exhibited at Koel Gallery [Online - https://koelgallery.com/exhibitions/landscape-of-memory/]. 17 November 2020 - 29 December 2020. (Unpublished
Sana Bilgrami and Maliha Peracha brought together artists from Scotland and Pakistan to discover in their work refractions of a shared and evocative vision of the elemental po...

Short Documentary Film Series - Artist Uncovered: Nicole Bennet

Digital Artefact
Bilgrami, S. (2015)
Short Documentary Film Series - Artist Uncovered: Nicole Bennet
A portrait of Dundee-based mixed-media artist Nicole Bennett, whose versatile work evokes nostalgia and reflection through drawing, painting, video and sculpture. Link to vid...

Short Documentary Film Series - Artist Uncovered: David Michie

Digital Artefact
Bilgrami, S. (2015)
Short Documentary Film Series - Artist Uncovered: David Michie
An intimate and poignant portrait of the late David Michie (1928-1915), the esteemed artist who reflects on how his work celebrates the ‘romance’ of nature and life. Link to ...

Short Documentary Film Series - Artist Uncovered: Emily Learmont

Digital Artefact
Bilgrami, S. (2015)
Short Documentary Film Series - Artist Uncovered: Emily Learmont
This film observes painter and illustrator, Emily Learmont, painstakingly embellish an oil painting as she explains her contrasting approaches to painting and illustrating, an...

Short Documentary Film Series - Artist Uncovered: Elspeth Lamb

Digital Artefact
Bilgrami, S. (2015)
Short Documentary Film Series - Artist Uncovered: Elspeth Lamb
Glimpses into the work of Elspeth Lamb, the eminent Glasgow-based printmaker. Link to video on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u7sgyQB2Mc

Short Documentary Film Series - Artist Uncovered: Ade Adesina

Digital Artefact
Bilgrami, S. (2015)
Short Documentary Film Series - Artist Uncovered: Ade Adesina
An intimate portrait of Aberdeen-based ecological printmaker and artist, Ade Adesina, who exhibited his exciting work and won an award at London’s Royal Academy of Art in the ...

Short Documentary Film Series - Artist Uncovered: Leo Du Feu

Digital Artefact
Bilgrami, S. (2015)
Short Documentary Film Series - Artist Uncovered: Leo Du Feu
A meditative portrait of talented landscape artist Leo du Feu. Link to video on youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x846WYW9ZX0&feature=youtu.be

Short Documentary Film Series - Artist Uncovered: Trevor Jones

Digital Artefact
Bilgrami, S. (2015)
Short Documentary Film Series - Artist Uncovered: Trevor Jones
A snapshot portrait of Canadian artist Trevor Jones who is breaking new ground in exploring the relationship between art and technology. Link to video on Youtube - https://ww...

Pre-Napier Funded Projects

  • Documentary Film: 'Recreating Paradise' (20 minutes, 2002) Director, Editor
  • Documentary Film: 'Under My Skin' (15 min, 2001) Director, Camera, Editor
  • Documentary Film: 'Sun, Fire, River. Ajrak: Cloth from the Soil of Sindh' (30 min, 1998) Scriptwriter, Assistant Director

Current Post Grad projects