How a father's bedtime stories set Winnipeg sisters on their path as filmmakers
Winnipeg's Saira and Nilufer Rahman are the acclaimed filmmakers behind Prairie Mosque and Arctic Mosque
As little girls, Saira and Nilufer Rahman loved bedtime.
Before they drifted off to sleep, their dad would tell them stories about his childhood or take them to places he created in his mind.
"He was an amazing storyteller," said Nilufer. "His descriptions of his childhood are so vivid that they almost feel like they are my memories now."
Saira agrees.
"He would make up stories and they would be so colourful and imaginative and with meaning."
Those bedtime stories from their dad, who died several years ago, set the sisters on their own path as storytellers.
Today, the pair are accomplished filmmakers with their own production company, Snow Angel Films.
Their film Prairie Mosque, about the construction of Winnipeg's first mosque, was critically acclaimed.
Another celebrated documentary, Arctic Mosque, followed the 4,000-kilometre journey of a prefabricated mosque to its final destination in Inuvik, N.W.T.
Now, the cameras are focused on the sisters. Their lives in filmmaking are the subject of a new short film by Winnipeg filmmaker Mandeep Sodhi.
The film is part of Our Culture, Our Art — a four-part video series by Sodhi profiling South Asian artists in Manitoba, created for CBC Manitoba's Creator Network.
The four-part series was produced in conjunction with CBC Manitoba's pop-up remote newsroom bureau and community space in Garden City Centre in late 2021.
You can see the first film, about artist Azka Ahmed and their journey from spoken word poet to visual artist, here.
In the second film in the series, Seema Goel explains how a lie she told to a hitchhiker led her on a lifelong path in art. You can watch her short film here.
The final video, to be released on Sunday, Feb. 6, features Gurpreet Sehra explaining how the caste system informs her work.
About the filmmaker
Mandeep Sodhi is a screenwriter, cinematographer and director based in Winnipeg since 2011. He has more than 13 years of experience in the film industry in India, the United States and Canada.
He has won two national awards in India for his docudramas, and his music videos have been nominated for national and international Music Awards in India, Asia and Sierra Leone.
In 2015, Mandeep won the ACTRA Manitoba Golden Boy award for most outstanding member initiated project for his short film The Perfect Little Plan.
He has written and directed for television and has had his works broadcast on Bell MTS, Super Channel and various on-demand platforms. His film company is Sodhi Creative Films.