Brought up in North London, the youngest of five children of Indian parents, Asif discovered his enthusiasm for filmmaking aged 17, when he was asked by a friend to be a production runner on a student film at the then Harrow Art College.

He enrolled in an HND film course at Newport University before transferring to the Film, Video and Photography course at Westminster. His graduation film, Indian Tales, shot in and around his home in Stoke Newington, was highly regarded.

Indian Tales helped Asif into a directing job on television, where he cut his teeth making a prodigious number of films. But his true love was the cinema. He took an MA at the Royal College of Art and his graduation film, The Sheep Thief, shot in Rajasthan, India, won many awards including Second Prize in the Cinefoundation section of the 1998 Cannes International Film Festival and Best Director at the Poitiers Film Festival 1997.

Asif’s first feature, The Warrior (2001), won two BAFTAs for Outstanding British Film of the Year and The Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a Director in their First Feature.

His most successful film to date is Senna, a documentary about the legendary Brazilian racing driver. It earned Asif a further two BAFTA awards for Best Documentary and Best Editing, as well as a series of awards worldwide, and is the highest grossing British documentary of all time.

Since then, Asif has made a short film for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. The Odyssey, shown on television in the run-up to the Olympics, traces the emotional journey from 2005 when London won the right to host the Olympic Games to the eve of the games in 2012.

He is an enthusiastic member of the University’s Cinema Advisory Board, providing advice and support for our flagship project to restore the old cinema in Regent Street. He is also a valued supporter of the University’s film courses, offering workshops and seminars to students hoping to follow in his footsteps.