Sheida is a British-Turkish-Iranian documentary filmmaker and composer based in London. She conducted research on women and migration during her BSc Social Sciences studies at University College London (UCL). This led to her MA in Documentary Film at University Arts London (UAL). In 2018, she worked at award-winning charity Medical Aid Films, where she supported the production of health films for vulnerable women and children in the global south.
Driven by her passion for ethnographic storytelling, her most recent work focuses on documenting women in agriculture and their rights to landownership. Her student film 'Harvesting Our Tea' was selected for the One World Media Global Short Docs Forum 2021, and later, commissioned by BBC Our World and broadcast globally. The film was selected as a featured documentary in the the Primetime Graduate Showcase in partnership with Cinegirl Magazine and was awarded Best Short Documentary in the Women's Voices Now Film Festival in LA.
Through her experience of scoring for film, she often uses music as a tool to build narratives, and composes the music to her films. She is currently performing the music of her latest documentary with the orchestral musical project 'Entropies' across London concert venues. They are recording the project with funding support received by the Bert Jansch Foundation in 2023.
Sheida is currently developing documentaries for BBC Two at Current Affairs and developing her next short documentary with the support of the OSBD Documentary Film Fund.
Awards:
Best Short Documentary Award winner at Women's Voices Now (2023)
Students Competition Best Documentary Film Award at Porto Femme International Film Festival (2023)
Women's Rights and Struggles Award special mention at Porto Femme International Film Festival (2023)
Kas International Film Festival Official Selection (2023)
Nominated for the Student Award at the One World Media Awards (2022)
Shortlisted for the BAFTA Yugo Student Awards (2022)
Shortlisted for the The Grierson British Documentary Awards (2022)
Toronto International Women's Festival Official Selection (2022)
Munich FilmSchoolFest Official Selection (2022)
Izmir International Short Film Festival Official Selection (2022)
6th International Women's Film Festival Official Selection (2022)