Sima Gonsai Films

04/12/2024

Cultivate successfully completes its 2022-2024 distribution programme with a final festival selection at Mumbai Short International Film Festival.

The film has been featured across COP 23&24, at Universities and festivals across the globe.

Thank you all of the talent, crew, supporters and promoters of this work. We've enjoyed sharing the film alongside having key conversations about evo systems and our connection to earth itself.

We are now in development for part three next year.

Funded by

03/12/2024

The season for celebrating your hard work starts now!! Happy December 2024!!

Thanks to all of the supporters!!

.rzque

02/12/2024

What a fabulous celebration of great minds and talent. Thank you for sharing our work, it was amazing to see it screened infront of so many people from the industry. We were very proud to showcase the talents of our cast and crew and all of our supporters...it was a blast!!!!

.rzque

28/11/2024

We are pleased to announce short film 'Threaded Together' is nominated for the 'Diversity Champion Award' by Royal Television Society Midlands

Directed by Sima Gonsai and Bhulla Beghal, this poetic film captures the textile culture of South Asian women in Lancashire, weaving together a tapestry of sewing history, from early migration, to home manufacturing and contemporary eco practices.

The ceremony takes place this Friday 29th Nov The ICC Birmingham. We are delighted to attend with our cast, crew and supporters - profiling independent talent alongside the visionary team from the British Textile Biennial and Super Slow Way; Jenny Rutter & Laurie Peake.

22/08/2024

Artist .parmar.studio will be speaking, Sat 24th August 2pm about her work artwork & 'Khadi' short film.

It was a privileged to work with her to make a short documentary which was exhibited for . The legacy of this project has gone far and wide.

Check out the short documentation film that speaks about the work and our unique collaboration. Supporting artists as a filmmaker is key to my work.it enables me to work with new concepts and artfirms.

18/07/2024

Busy in post production making the new documentary 'Lost Harmonies'. Shot in Kutch,India.this short explores the craft of bell making and how sound can connect animals with their herders and land.

Filming each day in 33 degrees heat with an awesome team of experts from

Absolute honour to work on this one....more updates to come.

Link in the bio

08/07/2024

Lost Harmonies documentary is now in post-production.

Earlier this year I travelled to Bhuj, India, to document the Artisans of Kutch and the unique skill of tuning the 'Kharki' - Indian Bell and how the sound can provide healing benefits between herders and animals, alongside identifying their community and environment.

Armed with my camera and lots of anticipation (with a pinch of fear), I ventured into the unknown, across sand deserts, mountains, nature reserves and visited The Great Rann of Kutch. I filmed herds of camels, buffalos, goats and cows. It was truly a remarkable experience and for the first time I was able to use my native language, Gujarati to interview farmers about their lived experiences.

I was commissioned by The Living & Learning Design Centre in Bhuj, who had seen a previous short film 'Khadi', featuring Gandhi's visit to a cotton mill in Lancashire, 1931. It takes one person to see your work and curate it, and another to be inspired and form a new collaboration, it's amazing when that happens and can take you on a completely new adventure.

To find out more, head over to my website; www.simagonsaifilms.com

19/06/2024

The legacy of .parmar.studio work 'Khadi' continues

Our Island Stories features the chapter 'The Cotton Walk' across Blackburn and Darwen.

I had the opportunity to tell my fathers story alongside the experiences of cotton mill workers in the 70s. Also documented Mahatma Gandhi's remarkable visit to Darwen and the history of the Cotton Famine Road.

Read more
Our Island Stories
The Cotton Walk

11/06/2024

Now in post-production: 'Lost Harmonies' festuring the artisans of Kutch, India. Short documentary capturing the making of the Kharki, Indian bell.Shot in Bhuj, Gujarat.

Looking forward to sharing this very special project.

Funded by

03/06/2024

🎶 Calling all musicians! 🎶

We’re looking for local, exciting music acts – solo artists, duos, bands – to work with us to develop a repertoire suitable for our heritage environment and historical time periods.

Artists will be shortlisted to participate in our summer competition – with each artist showcasing their work to our high volume of visitors during one of our Summer Lates events.

The winner will be guaranteed a professional contract with us, exposure on our social media channels, and access to advice sessions with our team.

visit https://bclm.com/battle-of-the-bands/ to apply.

23/05/2024

short film about the makin of award winning Moving Portraits!!

//digitalculturenetwork.org.uk/knowledge/how-sense-arts-made-dance-film-accessible-using-subpac-technology/

23/05/2024

Moving Portraits was commissioned for Birmingham 2022 festival, Arts Council England & Sense. The work presented an immersive screen installation as part of the . Also nominated for Best Diversity Champion Award by Royal Television Society and winner of Winner ‘Best Digital Inclusion’ award by Arts Council England.

Watch below to see how we did it

Here is a short film that explains how we made the work!

hashtag hashtag hashtag hashtag ://digitalculturenetwork.org.uk/knowledge/how-sense-arts-made-dance-film-accessible-using-subpac-technology/

We are always excited to share different ways that organisations create accessible content. We spoke to film director Sima Gonsai, who has been working with SENSE Arts and their disabled artists. We explored the work they have been doing and their innovative use of SubPac technologies to create acce...

21/05/2024

19/05/2024

The Randhawa Story screening today!!!!

Very excited about this !!! Short documentary about how Indian Cinema brought the film, Bollyeood stars and families to Sparkbrook, Birmingham!!!!

Shree Ram Temple,1.30pm,Waldorf Road,Sparkbrook.

Co-directed with
Shot by ✋️& JP
Dop
2nd unit Paul Baxter
Drone
Producer


#

18/05/2024

Two years in the making - The Randhawa Story has landed!!!

World premiere 19th May 1.30pm - see you there for dance, film and music - Bollywood style!!

Flatpack Festival

10/05/2024

So pleased for who's film Simon Says Dadda International selection Festival, Miami.

Co- Directed this 3-screen installation with thd formidable .

Sending a virtual high five to you both!!!

24/04/2024

'Cultuvate' is selected for Rogue Dancer, North Carolina.

Alongside Dublin Culture Company and Indonesia Bertutur Dance Film Proframme Bali. Really pleased for the international reach for this climate themed work.



Everyday is

21/04/2024

Final day of shooting the 'Randhawa Story', capturing the history of the Waldorf Cinema inside and out. Filmed some drone footage today of the iconic building, alongside the Randhawa brothers who gave us a step by step tour.

A privileged insight into how a family worked passionately to provide entertainment for diverse communities across the region and beyond.

The short documentary will have its world premiere accredicted film festival on 19th May 2024.

Filming with .

We are now at the edit stage of weaving together ten stories of cinema goers, movie enthusiasts and family.

Funded by and

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