Ian Iqbal Rashid

Ian Iqbal Rashid is a poet, screenwriter, and filmmaker and now, playwright, whose work moves fluidly between film, television, and literature. He’s a writer and co–executive producer of the Peabody- and Canadian Screen Award–winning comedy Sort Of, and previously wrote for the BAFTA-winning series This Life. His feature films Touch of Pink and How She Move both premiered at Sundance, with Ian also serving as director on both. Across his career, he’s created, written, directed, and produced scripted projects—spanning comedy, drama, and everything in between—for the BBC, Showtime, HBO, Amazon, CBC, Crave, and Channel 4. His work has earned recognition from the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, the Aga Khan Foundation, and the UK Film Council, among others. As a poet, Ian has published three collections, including the award-winning Black Markets, White Boyfriends and Other Acts of Elision. Beyond writing, he’s been an influential cultural organizer and curator—founding Desh Pardesh, Canada’s seminal South Asian arts festival; creating Racing Desire at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts; and curating Beyond Destination, a global touring exhibition commissioned by the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham. Born in Tanzania and raised in Toronto, Ian spent many years in London (UK) and now lives in western Newfoundland, where his partner is Dean of the School of Fine Arts at Memorial University.