About Us
Other Cinemas is a Brent-based project established by the filmmaking duo Turab Shah and Arwa Aburawa who saw the need for better and more equitable ways of film-making, sharing, and education. Seeing these three strands as inseparable, our work attempts to create a vital and holistic alternative to the industry that addresses its racial and class biases. Our work is rooted in our diverse neighbourhoods in northwest London, some of the most racially diverse in the country but chronically underserved in terms of cultural provisions.
What we do
Community Screenings
We showcase the work of Black and non-white filmmakers through free film screenings in Brent in a warm and welcoming environment that invites open discussion between filmmakers and audiences.
Film School
Led by filmmakers Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah, Other Cinemas Film School is a free year-long film school aiming to provide new and emerging filmmakers with mentorship and guidance to create confident, imaginative, and curious Black and non - white filmmakers who are interested in the transformative potential of filmmaking.
Production
Other Cinemas also produce films and documentaries led by Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah. These include a long-term collaboration with Art On The Underground, commissions for Humber Street Gallery, and the Brent Biennial 2022 (Metroland Cultures).
Awards
Other Cinemas is a unique project in the UK film landscape that adopts a Black and non-white community-centred orientation towards filmmaking, film exhibition, and education. Other Cinemas is currently a 2022 Film London Lodestar, was awarded ‘Best Film Programme’ by Cinema for All in 2020 and 2021, and named ‘Best Community Cinema’ in the country in 2022. Our work has been supported by Doc Society (Ripple Effect Fund, 2021), BFI, Film London, and Serpentine Gallery (Support Structures for Support Structures ,2021).