Jamil Dehlavi is an independent filmmaker who read law at Oxford University and was called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn London before studying film directing at Columbia University in New York where he received a Master of Fine Arts. He has produced and directed many international award-winning feature films including TOWERS OF SILENCE, THE BLOOD OF HUSSAIN, BORN OF FIRE, IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, PASSOVER, JINNAH, INFINITE JUSTICE, GODFORSAKEN and SEVEN LUCKY GODS. His films have been distributed all over the world and screened at renowned film festivals such as Cannes, Toronto, Berlin, London and New York. Retrospectives of his films have been held at Bite the Mango Film Festival in 2007 and by the British Film Institute in 2018.

Films shown in Divvy Film Festival 2020


Jinnah, Jamil Dehlavi, 1998
An epic film about the life of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the man who founded Pakistan in the wake of Great Britain’s relinquishment of control over India.

After his death in 1948, Mohammad Ali Jinnah (Christopher Lee) awaits final judgement in the afterlife and must tell the story of his life before celestial bureaucrats decide his fate. His story covers the intense political strife and bloody events that led to the formation of Pakistan.

Attracting much controversy during production, but released to great acclaim, Jamil Dehlavi’s Jinnah is an intelligent and moving piece of cinema, with a performance by Sir Christopher Lee that he personally believed to be the finest of his career.

Awards: Grand Prize, the Festival of the Dhow Countries, Zanzibar; Best International Film, the World Film Awards, Indonesia; Gold Award, the Flagstaff Film Festival, US; Special Jury Prize (Best Foreign Film) at Worldfest, Houston; and it was nominated for a Golden Pyramid, the Cairo International Film Festival.