Anisa Sabiri

Anisa Sabiri is a London-based writer, filmmaker and independent producer from Tajikistan whose works explore themes of post-memory. Her films, including THE CRYING OF TANBUR (2018) and RHYTHMS OF LOST TIME (2021), have screened at major international festivals, including Busan, Asian Film Archive, BOZAR, Musée des Confluences and DOKUMENTA-15. Her projects in development have been selected at Berlinale (EFM Toolbox), Ji.hlava, Sheffield DocFest, DocMonde, Eurasia DocMonde and goEast. In 2023, she co-directed and co-wrote PINK TREE, commissioned by BAFA & CHANEL, which premiered at Busan. As a writer, Sabiri contributed to a hybrid poetic installation film HAFTA, premiering at the 60th Venice Biennale, Main Pavilion. Her photography and writing have been showcased at prestigious venues, including IDEAL Barcelona and Museum Z33 (as part of the Pejvak Collective), and published in The Guardian, Calvert Journal and Novastan. Her collection of poems and short novels, published 2014, received Tajikistan's National Award in Literature. In 2018, Sabiri established the 'My Vision' Experimental Film Residency in Dushanbe, marking her entry into production. Her UK-based company, Generation Films, is developing emerging Tajik filmmaker Mehrangez Saidzoda's work in a French co-production. A passionate advocate for Central Asian voices in global cinema, Sabiri has contributed to the Independence Project with DISCO Network and Doc Society, and has spoken at the Royal Society of Asian Affairs, European Film Market, goEast, Basel Peace Forum and PEN. She currently serves as Senior Lecturer at the University of Central Asia in Naryn, teaching film and photography whilst delivering lectures and workshops internationally. Sabiri completed her MA in Screenwriting at the London Film School with a Chevening Scholarship, earning the Outstanding Screenwriting Award and The Final Draft. She is an alumna of the US State Department's International Leadership Programme in Documentary Filmmaking (2021) and studied with Suwa Nobuhiro at the Busan Asian Film Academy (2024) and with Fred Kelemen in Moscow. She is an alumna of Sheffield Future Producers and a member of Directors UK and the Documentary Association of Europe.