Sharbari Ahmed, LISFF 2026, TV Pilot Official Selection

- Can you please tell us about you and your daily life?

I was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh but moved to the US when I was three weeks old. I have lived here for most of my life, except for 4 years in Ethiopia when I was a kid, 2 years in Beijing after high school studying Mandarin and 11 months in Abu Dhabi. I’ve loved mostly in NYC and Connecticut. I am a TV writer and filmmaker and adjunct instructor of writing in two graduate MFA programs. I also mentor writers and script consult. I try to write every day and walk my dogs and unfortunately, get into dumb arguments with strangers on social media about a few subjects, which I shan’t bore you with. I will be doing that less.

Sometimes I take meetings with studio and production executives and pitch my ideas and try to convince them to give me a development deal and/or staff me on a show. Today, May 8th I started Qigong and I think it might be exactly what I need to keep my energy up for the multiple projects I am juggling.

- When and how did you get into writing/filmmaking?

I always knew I wanted to make films or be involved in filmmaking in some way. I started when I was a child, writing short stories. I went to school for it in New York—NYU—and got my MFA in fiction writing. I wrote a play, Raisins Not Virgins: A Romantic Comedy about Jihad, which was produced off-off B’way by the Workshop Theater Co. in NY.

I turned it into a screen play and got it into The Tribeca All Access program of the Tribeca Film Institute. It was nominated for an award and it is now in development for production.

I published a book of short stories, The Ocean of Mrs. Nagai (2013, Daily Star Books), a novel, Dust Under Her Feet (2019, Westland), which Bombay Duck—the TV pilot officially selected by LISFF 2026 is based on. A new short story collection The Strangest of Fruit and the North American edition of Dust Under Her Feet- retitled Yasmine and the Americans were published in 2025 and in April of 2026 respectively by Cheek Press (all available on Amazon and major online retailers, like Waterstones in the UK, shameless plug).

In 2015, I joined the writing team for a TV show on ABC in the US called “Quantico” starring Priyanka Chopra, and that was how I got into the WGA East and my Tv writing career was launched. I was in the writer’s room as one of the head writers for a series set in New Delhi called “Kriya Karam” produced by Voot and Viacom Paramount in India but that ended with the WGA strike.

I have developed shows for AMC, and  wiip.

I adapted the middle grade children’s book Rickshaw Girl  into a film which is on Amazon Prime.

Bombay Duck and Raisins Not Virgins have won an award each this year, which is very cool and energizing.

Last year I also had an essay published in a wonderful collection of essays about Sinead O’Connor, titled Nothing Compares to You. What Sinead O’Connor Means to Us (One Signal Atria, 2025).

Last August I wrote and directed a short film called Level 3 about a brilliant professor who is afraid to reconnect with her estranged daughter because she’s become a hoarder and must overcome her shame to re-establish her bond with her child. That was a new, scary and marvelous experience for me. It’s in post-production now and I am excited (and frightened) to send it out in the festival world. The script will be published in Manoa Journal of Literature this year.

- How often do you write/create/ develop ideas? Do you have a writing/creative routine? And what inspires you to write?

I am creating and working on things consistently.

I write almost every day, though I do take breaks in order to avoid burnout. I find inspiration everywhere. I feel we have access to inspiration constantly. As long as we’re alive and paying attention and present, inspiration will be around us.

When I have a project that I must deliver by a deadline, I try to work on it 3 to four hours a day. No more, no less.

- How does it feel to have your work recognised?

Well, pretty good. It’s a rare occurrence so when it happens, I try to enjoy it. I’m hoping to experience that feeling with more frequency.

-  How did you develop the idea for your LISFF/LISP-selected work? Is there a story behind your story? And, how long have you been working on it?

Bombay Duck is adapted from my novel, Yasmine and The Americans. I think I always meant it to be for the screen. The novel has been described as cinematic and I envisioned at first as a film but was gripped with some kind of insanity and wrote a novel first.

What’s it about you ask? About 60 min long. Just kidding. I’m making dad jokes when I am not a dad—or a male for that matter.

Bombay Duck: In 1940s Calcutta, Yasmine Khan runs the glamorous nightclub Bombay Duck, a refuge for soldiers, singers, and lost souls during the final years of the British Raj. As war, colonial unrest, and forbidden love collide, she fights to protect her chosen family while navigating ambition, survival, betrayal, and the shifting tides of history. 

- Can you please give us a few tips about filmmaking/ scriptriting/writing?

Consistency is key, as is discipline. Writing/creating requires rigor and tenacity, humility and courage. Continue to challenge yourself so you grow as a writer-creator. Give yourself grace but don’t sink into complacency if you have a bit of success. Conversely, don’t give up simply because your notion of success is eluding you. Get back to it as soon as you are able to.

- Lastly, do you recommend the writers/filmmakers submit to LISP/LISFF?

Yes, for sure. These interview questions are such an unusual bonus. Usually, you submit to these writing contests and festivals and even if you are selected, but cannot attend that’s it. There is no further relationship. LISFF creates an opportunity for further networking and connection beyond the initial selection.