Pratibha Parmar is a British writer and filmmaker. She has made feminist documentaries such as Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth (2014) and My Name is Andrea (2022) about Andrea Dworkin.

Early life

Parmar was born in Nairobi, Kenya, to Indian parents and when she was 12 her family moved to the United Kingdom. She received a B.A. degree from Bradford University and attended Birmingham University for postgraduate studies. Parmar's feminism was influenced by writers such as Angela Davis, June Jordan, Cherrie Moraga, Barbara Smith and Alice Walker.

Career

With her 1991 film Khush, Parmar examined the erotic world of South Asian lesbians and gay men in the United Kingdom and India, using a mix of documentary footage and dramatic scenes. The documentary Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth (2014) is about the life of author and activist Alice Walker, whom Parmar had first met in 1991 via June Jordan and Angela Davis. Walker and Parmar also collaborated on Warrior Marks, a documentary about female genital mutilation. They then released a book, also entitled Warrior Marks (1993). In 2022, Parmar released her documentary My Name is Andrea about the second-wave feminist and writer Andrea Dworkin. Parmar has also made music videos for Morcheeba, Tori Amos and Midge Ure.

Awards and recognition

Parmar won the 1993 Frameline Award at the Frameline Film Festival in San Francisco and her films have won various prizes. In 2016, she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.

Selected works

Film

Writing