Tag Archives: film

Inside the world of Angels: the secret history of film & TV costumes

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Samira Ahmed

The chill hits me and a slight tang of…meat. I’ve entered the Fur store room at Angels Costumiers. We stand in silence. There are racks of fur coats – like a multiverse of Narnia entry points. Fox stoles are piled … Continue reading →

Posted in Business/Economics, Culture, Design, Film, History, Media, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Theatre, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is there a transphobic equivalent to blacking up?

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Samira Ahmed

I wrote a piece for the BBC News website today, originally commissioned about the idea of white actors playing black roles, but I wanted to explore further issues Juliet Jacques had touched on when she came on Front Row recently … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Film, History, Media, Theatre, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Body swap Muslims & playing “The Jew”

Posted on November 28, 2014 by Samira Ahmed

Had a great discussion with David Baddiel and David Schneider on Front Row this week about why Britain was hosting its first Jewish comedy festival. It  made me revisit  this 2009 news film I made on location at the shoot … Continue reading →

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The Drag Queen Tombola and other tales of cross dressing glory

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Samira Ahmed

This column first appeared in The Big Issue magazine. I was once asked what was the best night out I ever had in London. My husband, thought I’d say it was that romantic night we went to the National Theatre … Continue reading →

Posted in Comedy, Culture, Film, Germany, Theatre, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Battling it out with the 70s & The Lamb’s Navy Rum Girl

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

My earliest registered nightmare (circa 1971): Coming downstairs in the dark to find the TV taken over by a ghost station, broadcasting horrors for the denizens of the night. I didn’t know then of course, that one day there would … Continue reading →

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Ferris Bueller and Me

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

John Hughes died four years ago and I wrote this post that day August 6th 2009 before I had a blog of my own. Just found it again thanks to the interwebs. Four years on things aren’t quite the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Comedy, Culture, Film, Media, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Plotting the arc of darkness with Joss Whedon

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

Here’s a link to my interview with Joss Whedon for Radio 3’s Night Waves on June 12th. We covered his writing for Roseanne, Shakespearean superheroes, his love of musicals — especially Brigadoon —  the way studios treat writers, (take Firefly … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Children, Comedy, Comics/graphic novels, Culture, Media, Radio, Science Fiction/Fantasy, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Billy Liar, Bradford and the birth of the dollybird

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

“A lazy, irresponsible young clerk in provincial Northern England lives in his own fantasy world and makes emotionally immature decisions as he alienates friends and family.” Everyone loves Billy Liar. Apart from whoever wrote imdb’s current bizarrely censorious plot summary … Continue reading →

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How The West Was Fun: When Britain loved cowboys

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

The Unforgiven (1961) – The Searchers in reverse This is about the back ground to the April 6th documentary I made for Radio 4 about the Western in British culture. You can listen again here: Archive on Four documentary Riding … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Children, Cowboys!, Culture, Film, History, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mr Lincoln’s Wild Ride

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

I spent a night in the pub playing skittles recently with The Lawmen of Bristol for a radio documentary. They are Wild West enthusiasts, who transport around their home-made saloon town and re-enact historical gunfights for charity. Each has a … Continue reading →

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