Nationality Canadian and British Name Julian Samuel | Role Writer Movies Acts of Imagination | |
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Notable work Atheism and Save and Burn Books Into the European mirror, Passage to Lahore, Lone ranger in Pakistan | ||
Julian Samuel is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, writer and painter. He has produced and directed a number of films that examine the historical and contemporary relationship between the Western world, the Middle East and Asia set against larger subjects in contemporary society. Palestine's struggle for self-determination is a recurring theme in his work. Notable films include Atheism (2006), Save and Burn (2004) and The Library in Crisis (2002).
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Biography
Julian Samuel was born in Lahore, Pakistan. His family emigrated to the UK and then to Canada.
He completed a B.A. in Literature [Trent University] and an M.F.A. in Photography [Concordia University]. He resides in Toronto, Canada.
Career
Samuel has made a number of films that examine the historical and contemporary relationship between the West, the Middle East and Asia set against larger subjects in contemporary society. Palestine's struggle for self-determination is a recurring theme in his work among other post-colonial themes.
He is the author of Passage to Lahore (1995) and Lone Ranger in Pakistan (1986). On the book jacket of Passage to Lahore, Cameron Bailey, artistic director of the Toronto International Film Festival, writes "the bravest piece of writing to emerge from our carefully confused Canada...(T)he book is unafraid of anger, unafraid of ideas and unafraid of speaking the wrong thing."
Passage to Lahore received mixed reviews upon its French release in Quebec. The book contains criticism of the Quebec provincial government's political agenda to preserve Quebecois culture resulting in a muting of minority representation in the arts. Samuel has been outspoken regarding the lack of visible minority representation in the mostly French-speaking province.
He is a frequent contributor to Serai, a Montreal-based not-for-profit web magazine focused on arts, culture and politics.
Samuel is also an abstract expressionist painter.