Hanif Kureishi

Writing

Hanif Kureishi

Born 1954-12-05 · London, England, UK

Hanif Kureishi CBE (born December 5, 1954) is an English playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker, novelist and short story writer. The themes of his work have touched on topics of race, nationalism, immigration, and sexuality. In 2008, The Times named Kureishi in their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".

Acting credits

Bowie: The Final Act poster
7.9

The final creative chapter of one of music’s most iconic artists. Featuring rare interviews with those who knew and worked alongside Bowie as well as famous fans and figures who have been inspired by his artistry, the film will uncover the strategy behind Bowie’s artistic resurrection and the inexhaustible extraordinary creativity that defined his final decade, in which he released his critically acclaimed album Blackstar just two days before he died. This was an emergence from the turbulence of the 1990s, when Bowie had found himself at odds with a changing industry but pushed on to headline Glastonbury in 2000.

Bowie: The Final Act

2025

Heavy Rain poster
5.5

A powerful short documentary inspired by the launch of the genre breaking PlayStation 3 title HEAVY RAIN. 

Directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Neil LaBute, the seven minute short was filmed in London, LA & Paris and asks leading luminaries, 'How far would you go to save someone you love?' 


Heavy Rain

2010

Peter Sellers: A State of Comic Ecstasy poster
8.0

The comedy pioneer behind the Goon Show, Dr Strangelove and the Pink Panther series is explored in depth in this film, surveying his meteoric rise to fame and troubled personal life.

Peter Sellers: A State of Comic Ecstasy

2020

David Bowie Is Happening Now poster
6.0

Directed by BAFTA Award winner Hamish Hamilton, the movie was filmed during the closing night of the V&A installation and features appearances by Pulp leader Jarvis Cocker, fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto, and more, as well as insight from David Bowie Is curators Victoria Broackes and Geoffrey Marsh.

David Bowie Is Happening Now

2013

Andrew and Jeremy Get Married poster
7.5

Director Don Boyd's portrayal of the extraordinary love story between a retired bus driver from Croydon and a retired teacher from Chelsea. One took to cruising public toilets and succumbed to drug addiction, crime and prison before personal rehabilitation. The other moved in a social sphere of dinner parties and T S Eliot readings at the seaside, yet had struggles of a different kind. (Storyville)

Andrew and Jeremy Get Married

2005

In My Own Words: Hanif Kureishi poster
NR

Using a trove of archive photographs and film, Kureishi reflects on his father’s experiences as an immigrant in the post-war years, his own youth and entry into the world of theatre, the tumult around the publication of The Satanic Verses and its continued reverberations, and how he has transformed the life around him into a work of art.

In My Own Words: Hanif Kureishi

2024

Black and White in Colour poster
10.0

A two part documentary that details the contribution of black and Asian people to television history from the birth of television in 1936 to 1992. Interviewees include: Pearl Connor, Thomas Baptiste, Lenny Henry, Norman Beaton, Horace Ové, Carmen Munroe, and Stuart Hall.

Black and White in Colour

1992

No artwork available
NR

Why do we cry? Can men cry too? When are tears acceptable and when are they not?

Tears

1986

Hanif Kureishi Interview poster
NR

This interview filmed in 2015 for Criterion, and has the writer talk about his life in London, the role Margaret Thatcher played in this screenplay, casting the actors, and working on the film My Beautiful Laundrette.

Hanif Kureishi Interview

2015

No artwork available
NR

Examines laughter, its representation in film and its day to day function. Well known people from various backgrounds discuss the issue and what it means to them.

Laughter

1986

No artwork available
NR

Explores rage, its function and its representation in film. Why does rage occur, how does it differ between people and how do children feel about it? Also questions if rage can ever be a constructive emotion.

Rage

1986

Behind the camera

My Beautiful Laundrette poster
6.7

A young Pakistani Briton manages a rundown laundrette with his lover while dealing with tension in his family, the local Pakistani community, and a persistent mob of skinheads.

My Beautiful Laundrette

1985

The Mother poster
6.0

A grandmother has a passionate affair with a man half her age, who is also sleeping with her daughter.

The Mother

2003

The Escort poster
5.4

Fleeing from his wife in France to London, 45-year-old Pierre is barely able to support himself. He meets friendly Tom, who offers to help him make ends meet by working as a male escort.

The Escort

1999

Venus poster
6.6

Maurice is an aging veteran actor who becomes taken with Jessie, the grandniece of his closest friend. When Maurice tries to soften the petulant and provincial young girl with the benefit of his wisdom and London culture, their give-and-take surprises both Maurice and Jessie as they discover what they don't know about themselves.

Venus

2006

My Son the Fanatic poster
5.0

Pakistani taxi-driver Parvez and prostitute Bettina find themselves trapped in the middle when Islamic fundamentalists decide to clean up their local town.

My Son the Fanatic

1997

Le Week-End poster
6.2

Nick and Meg Burrows return to Paris, the city where they honeymooned, to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary and rediscover some romance in their long-lived marriage. The film follows the couple as long-established tensions in their marriage break out in humorous and often painful ways.

Le Week-End

2013

Sammy and Rosie Get Laid poster
5.7

Sammy and Rosie are an unconventional middle-class London married couple. They live in the midst of inner-city chaos, surround themselves with intellectual street people, and sleep with everybody - except each other! Things become interesting when Sammy's father, Rafi, who is a former Indian government minister, comes to London for a visit. Sammy, Rosie, and Rafi try to find meaning through their lives and loves.

Sammy and Rosie Get Laid

1987

London Kills Me poster
5.9

For want of a nail a shoe was lost, for want of a shoe... a young man's life is almost lost, which is exactly what this film is all about: a man barely twenty who wants desperately to pull out of London's drug world by taking a job as a waiter in a 'normal' restaurant. But to do this he must come up with a "sensible" pair of shoes, an item that his homeless meanderings hasn't provided him.

London Kills Me

1991

London Kills Me poster
5.9

For want of a nail a shoe was lost, for want of a shoe... a young man's life is almost lost, which is exactly what this film is all about: a man barely twenty who wants desperately to pull out of London's drug world by taking a job as a waiter in a 'normal' restaurant. But to do this he must come up with a "sensible" pair of shoes, an item that his homeless meanderings hasn't provided him.

London Kills Me

1991

My Beautiful Laundrette poster
NR

Set in London during the Thatcher years, My Beautiful Laundrette tells the story of young British Pakistani, Omar, who transforms his Uncle’s run-down laundrette into a thriving business. After being confronted by a fascist gang, Omar recognises school friend Johnny and uses their history to diffuse the situation. As they renovate the laundrette together, love blossoms between them.

My Beautiful Laundrette

2020

No artwork available
NR

Describes the work of a cameraman who has been forced to take on work filming executions of kidnapped Westeners in the Middle East.

Weddings and Beheadings

2007