Sheida is a British-Turkish-Iranian documentary director 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). Driven by her passion for ethnographic storytelling, her most recent work focuses on documenting women's rights and their relationship to land.
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 shortlisted for a student BAFTA and Grierson award.
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She has been reporting on the earthquakes that happened in Turkey since March 2023. Her film Turkey's Earthquake: Those Who Stayed is now available to stream on BBC iPlayer. This film was supported by OSBD Documentary Film Fund and DOK Leipzig Short n' Sweet.
She is currently working on her third short film which is supported by the BFI Made of Truth Fund and developing/producing documentaries for the BBC.
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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 received by the Bert Jansch Foundation and Help Musicians in 2023.​
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Awards​:
Best Short Documentary Award winner at Women's Voices Now (2023)​
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Students Competition Best Documentary Film Award at Porto Femme International Film Festival (2023)
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Women's Rights and Struggles Award special mention at Porto Femme International Film Festival (2023)
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Nominated for the Student Award at the One World Media Awards (2022)
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Shortlisted for the BAFTA Yugo Student Awards (2022)​
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Shortlisted for the The Grierson British Documentary Awards (2022)​
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Close:Up Edinburgh DocuFest Official Selection (2023)
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Athens Short Film Festival Official Selection (2023)
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Oslo Short Film Festival Official Selection (2023)
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Kas International Film Festival Official Selection (2023)
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Toronto International Women's Festival Official Selection (2022)​
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Munich FilmSchoolFest Official Selection (2022)​
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Izmir International Short Film Festival Official Selection (2022)​
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6th International Women's Film Festival Official Selection (2022)