E121 - Navigating Development & TV with Writer/Director Raisah Ahmed

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Writer/Director Raisah Ahmed. Raisah talks us through her journey into filmmaking, discussing her work as a writer in Sundance Writers' Lab, gaining her first TV directing credits, navigating the tricky world of development and her work on the hit Channel 4 TV show We are Lady Parts. This chat covers:

 

-Why did she get into films and TV?

-What made her begin writing?

-The journey toward directing her first short.

-Her work within childrens TV and directing children.

-Her work in development and development hell!

-Navigating the industry as a woman of colour.

-What the future holds.

 

Raisah Ahmed is a Writer & Director based in Glasgow Scotland. Her first funded short ‘Meet me by the water’ was commissioned by the Scottish Film Talent Network and premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival, with a feature based on the same short further developed under the mentorship of Olivia Stewart and was also shortlisted for Sundance Writers Lab.

Raisah has since gone on to gain several TV directing credits as a part of BBC’s The Break, Sparks and also with childrens TV shows Princess Mirror-Belle and Molly and Mack. She hasn’t stopped writing though… Oh no. 

She wrote on the hit Channel 4 Show We Are Lady Parts created by Nida Manzoor and currently has several feature films in active development which have been done in partnership with the BFI and Film4 and her producer Zorana Piggott. And it has just been announced that you are adapting Martin Sixsmith’s follow up to Philomena, a family drama, detective story and thriller titled Ayesha’s Gift into a 6 part TV series. 

 

Nuggets of the week

Oz: Cadrage App

Marcus: Ponysmasher - Communicating Your Vision as a Directo

Raisah: Get out of the house and experience something outside of your own art form.

 

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

 

Socials

Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast

Twitter: @DirectorsTake

Raisah's socials: Twitter & Instagram

 

If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.