Kiana Rawji
Age: 24
Ethnicity: South Asian
Occupation and/or Company: Filmmaker (Producer, Director, Writer)
Years of experience: Five
Personal & professional philosophy:
One of my influences is the spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims, Aga Khan, who refers to “the cosmopolitan ethic.” This is “a true cosmopolitan [that] takes a step beyond mere tolerance” of others and seeks to appreciate, understand, and learn from difference. Through filmmaking, I’ve often been immersed in the lives of former strangers and something beautiful tends to come out of the intersection of our existences, whether it’s new insight or new friendship or both. I am continuously learning through the lens of my camera because it forces me to pay attention and learn from the people and the world around me. I hope that, through filmmaking, with a cosmopolitan ethic, my films will bring people closer together while celebrating their differences.
Upcoming performances/project:
I’m developing a few feature films at the moment: one about a Kenyan migrant caregiver, a coming-of-age film, and a documentary on Caregiving in the United States.
What is the highlight of your work?
I love every part of the process of making a film. But one of my (many) favorite parts is finally watching my film play on a big screen in front of an audience. It’s easy to become desensitized to your own material through the film production process. But when I watch my work with an audience, it’s like I’m watching my film through fresh eyes. Watching a movie is so deeply immersive and transports people to another world, almost like a dream. If dreams are just movies we make with our eyes closed, then filmmaking is the work of fashioning dreams we can see with our eyes open.
Future goals:
In the next few years, I hope to make my first feature film. Beyond that, I intend to continue making more movies, telling more stories, amplifying more voices, and touching more people. Through filmmaking, I want to speak to the unspoken and grapple with things that are unjust or uncomfortable to drive cultural change. Through filmmaking, I strive to embrace complexity and contradiction; to reckon with big truths and celebrate small triumphs; to expose injustice and imagine justice.
