Hailed for her vibrant explorations of culture clash and connection in films like MONSOON WEDDING and MISSISSIPPI MASALA, Indian American auteur Mira Nair has pursued an equally distinguished career as a director of short films that further explore the ways in which deep-rooted cultural traditions and prejudices shape everyday life. Bringing together early documentary works—including the revealing study of Indian moral hypocrisy INDIA CABARET, about the experiences of women working in a Mumbai strip club—alongside narrative shorts like the searing portrait of post-9/11 anti-Muslim racism 11’09”01—SEPTEMBER 11, this collection reflects Nair’s deep and abiding concern for society’s most marginalized members.
Directed by Mira Nair • 1983 • United States
Ashok Sheth is one of many Indian immigrants working in subway newsstands in New York City. This documentary follows his first journey back home to Ahmedabad, where he is forced to confront the conflicts between his ancestral culture and his new life ...
Directed by Mira Nair • 1985 • India
This documentary examines the line separating “good” and “bad” women in Indian society, specifically by focusing on the dancers at a Bombay strip club, a frequent patron, and his stay-at-home wife.
Directed by Mira Nair • 1993 • South Africa
Chris Hani, South Africa’s Communist Party Leader, was assassinated in April of 1993, causing a wave of fear to sweep through the country's white community. This is the tale of one family as they leave South Africa on the day of Hani’s funeral.
Directed by Mira Nair • 2001 • India
This documentary by Mira Nair explores the power of laughter through the strangely popular phenomenon of laughing clubs in contemporary Bombay.
Directed by Mira Nair • 2002 • United States
Based on events surrounding the September 11, 2001, disappearance of Salman Hamdani, a young Pakistani American man from Queens, this film portrays his mother’s struggle with terrorist allegations, her own fears, and her son’s fate that day.
Directed by Mira Nair • 2008 • France
Starring Konkona Sen Sharma, Ranvir Shorey, Birsa Chatterjee
One of eight shorts commissioned by the United Nations on themes concerning global society, this film explores gender equality. It’s the story of Zainab and Arif, who live with their son, Munna, in...
Directed by Mira Nair • 2007 • United States
Part of a four-film series on the AIDS epidemic in India, this film examines the virus as Indian society's great class leveler, following its transmission through interweaving stories that link urban and rural India.
