Institute of Advanced Studies

Self/Representation: Biography in Film

After screening of her short film My Mother India, Safina will discuss various aspects of integrating biography into filmmaking.  

“My Mother India tells the story of a mixed marriage set against the tumultuous backdrop of modern Indian history. With an Indian father who collects kitsch calendars, an Australian mother who hangs her knickers out to dry in front of the horrified Indian neighbours, a grandfather who was a self-styled Guru and a fiercely man-hating grandmother - it is no wonder that Safina Uberoi made a film about her family! What begins as a quirky and humorous documentary about an eccentric, multicultural upbringing unfolds into a complex commentary on the social, political and religious events of the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 that changed the destinies of the family.” – Urban Cinefile

Biographical details

Safina Uberoi is an Australian-Indian filmmaker. Her best known documentary, My Mother India, is an autobiographical film that won eleven major international awards including the Australian Film Critics Circle Award for best Australian documentary. Safina directed an episode about the British-Asian writer Meera Syal for the award winning BBC series Who do You Think You Are? She also wrote and directed 1800-India for PBS which won the Golden Eagle award. Her new film, The Good Man, which premiered at the Adelaide Festival in March, will be shown on ABC television later this year.