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{{short description|Indian screenwriter and producer|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2013}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Sabrina Dhawan
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Sabrina Dhawan
| birth_date =
| birth_place = London, England
| genre =
| subject = Indian family life, women screenwriters, Indian film
| movement =
| notableworks =
| spouse = {{Marriage|Steve Cohen|2006|2012}}
| imagesize = 317px
| yearsactive = 2000–present
}}
'''Sabrina Dhawan''' is an Indian screenwriter and producer, born in [[England]] and raised in [[Delhi, India|Delhi]], India.

Dhawan is a Professor and the area head of screenwriting at the [[Tisch School of the Arts]], [[New York University]]. She has been commissioned to write for many large companies including [[Disney Channel|Disney]], [[HBO]], [[ABC Family Worldwide|ABC Family]] and [[20th Century Fox]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url = https://tisch.nyu.edu/about/directory/dramatic-writing/109238575|title = Sabrina Dhawan|website = tisch.nyu.edu|access-date = 2016-03-09}}</ref> She has taught at filmmaking labs all over the world.

Dhawan is most well known for her writing credits on various feature-length films, as well as some producing and directing work on her own independent short films. She works a great deal within Indian and [[Bollywood]] cinema. ''[[Monsoon Wedding]]'', a 2001 film directed by [[Mira Nair]], is one of her earliest and most well known works, launching her screenwriting career.

Dhawan has a brief acting cameo in ''[[Monsoon Wedding]]'' as a wedding guest.

== Early life ==
Dhawan was born in England and raised in Delhi. Dhawan attended both the [[Convent of Jesus and Mary]] as well as [[Delhi Public School Society|Delhi Public School]] for her elementary education. She then went on to [[Hindu College, University of Delhi|Hindu College]] to obtain her [[Bachelor of Arts]] and to [[Leicester University]], U.K. for a [[Master of Arts|Masters of Arts]] in Communications Research.<ref>Dhawan, S. (2016, March). Getting to Know Sabrina Dhawan [E-mail interview].</ref> Dhawan then moved to [[New York City]], where she graduated from [[Columbia University]]'s Graduate Film Program in 2001 with a [[Master of Fine Arts|Masters of Fine Arts]] in Film.<ref name=":1" />

Her student short film, ''(Saanjh) As Night Falls,'' which she made during the last years of her MFA, has been successful since its release in 2000.

== Career ==
Graduating from Columbia in 2001, the same year as the release of ''[[Monsoon Wedding]]'', Dhawan's career was almost immediate. In fact, Dhawan wrote the first draft of the screenplay while she was still in school - it only took her about a week.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Mercy in her eyes: the films of Mira Nair|last = Muir|first = John Kenneth|publisher = Hal Leonard Corporation|year = 2006|pages = 166–7}}</ref> Fusing [[Hindi]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], and [[English language|English]], Dhawan wrote the multi-lingual script for ''[[Monsoon Wedding]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sen|first=Atreyee and Neha Raheja Thakker|date=April 2011|title=Prostitution, pee-ing, percussion, and possibilities: Contemporary women documentary film-makers and the city in South Asia.|journal=South Asian Popular Culture|volume=9|pages=29–42|doi=10.1080/14746689.2011.553886|s2cid=13290707|url=https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/prostitution-peeing-percussion-and-possibilities-contemporary-women-documentary-filmmakers-and-the-city-in-south-asia(32804100-1ee5-4e89-ac13-91157423f964).html}}</ref> The film was premiered in the [[Marché du Film]] section of the 2001 [[Cannes Film Festival]] and was nominated for various awards, including a [[Golden Globe Award|Golden Globe]].

After their pairing on ''[[Monsoon Wedding]]'', Dhawan and [[Mira Nair|Nair]] formed a brief partnership in which Dhawan worked as Nair's assistant at Columbia sometime in the early 2000s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Boltin|first=Kylie|date=2002|title=Mira Nair's New Film Monsoon Wedding: A Discussion Of|journal=Metro}}</ref> She also wrote the segment "India" (directed by Nair) in ''[[11'09"01 September 11]]'', a series of short films for [[StudioCanal|Canal Plus]] in 2002.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.thehindu.com/books/sabrina-dhawan/article5363736.ece|title = Sabrina Dhawan|date = 2013-12-02|newspaper = The Hindu|language = en-IN|issn = 0971-751X|access-date = 2016-03-09|archive-date = 16 December 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131216060827/http://www.thehindu.com/books/sabrina-dhawan/article5363736.ece|url-status = dead}}</ref>

Dhawan's short film ''(Saanjh) As Night Falls'' was awarded the Best of the Festival at the [[Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films]]. It also received the Audience Award at Angelus Awards; and was voted "Most Original Film," by [[New Line Cinema]] at the [[Polo Ralph Lauren]] New Works Festival in 2000.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url = http://arts.columbia.edu/film/sabrina-dhawan|title = Sabrina Dhawan|website = arts.columbia.edu|access-date = 2016-03-09|url-status=dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160310030549/http://arts.columbia.edu/film/sabrina-dhawan|archive-date = 10 March 2016|df = dmy-all}}</ref>

In 2009, Dhawan acted as [[Television producer|co-producer]] for the first three episodes of a TV Series titled ''[[Bollywood Hero]]''.{{cn|date=May 2024}}

In 2016, Dhawan co-wrote the film ''Rangoon'', with Vishal Bharadwaj and Matthew Robbins.{{cn|date=May 2024}}

Dhawan worked with Mira Nair to create a stage adaptation of ''[[Monsoon Wedding]]'' which ran at the [[Berkeley Repertory Theatre|Berkeley Repertory Theater]] in California in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weinert-Kendt |first=Rob |date=2017-05-03 |title='Monsoon Wedding' Lifted Moods Onscreen. How About Onstage? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/03/theater/monsoon-wedding-lifted-moods-onscreen-how-about-onstage.html |access-date=2022-06-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
In 2006, Dhawan married Steve Cohen, who wrote the screenplay for ''[[The Bachelor (1999 film)|The Bachelor]]'' (1999) starring [[Chris O'Donnell]] and [[Renée Zellweger]]. Cohen died on 29 September 2012.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/democratandchronicle/obituary.aspx?n=steven-l-cohen&pid=160267767|title = Steven L. Cohen's Obituary on Rochester Democrat And Chronicle|website = Rochester Democrat And Chronicle|access-date = 2016-03-09}}</ref>

{{as of|2016}} Dhawan was living in [[New York City]] with their son, Kabir.<ref name=":0" />

== Filmography ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Film
!Role
!Genre
|-
|2000
|''(Saanjh) As Night Falls''
|Writer/Director
|Fiction Short
|-
|2001
|''[[Monsoon Wedding]]''
|Writer
|Fiction (Film)
|-
|2002
|''[[11'09"01 September 11]]'' ("India")
|Writer
|Fiction Short
|-
|2003
|''[[Cosmopolitan (film)|Cosmopolitan]]''
|Writer
|Fiction (TV)
|-
|2004
|''Independent Lens''
|Writer (2 episodes)
|TV documentary
|-
|2009
|''[[Kaminey]]''
|Writer
|Fiction (Film)
|-
|2010
|''[[Ishqiya]]''
|Writer
|Fiction (Film)
|-
|2011
|''Bollywood: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told''
|Writer
|Documentary
|-
|2013
|''[[Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola]]''
|Script Consultant
|Fiction
|-
|2016
|''[[Rangoon (2017 Hindi film)|Rangoon]]''
|Writer
|Fiction (Film)
|}

==Awards and nominations==
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Festival/Institution
!Award
!Film
!Result
|-
|2000
|[[Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films|Palm Spring International Festival of Short Films]]
|Best of the Festival
|(''Saanjh) As Night Falls''
|{{Won}}
|-
|2001
|[[Venice Film Festival]]
|Golden Lion
|''[[Monsoon Wedding]]''
|{{Won}}
|-
|2002
|[[Venice Film Festival]]
|Best Short Film
|''[[11'09"01 September 11]]''
|{{Won}}
|-
|2002
|[[Venice Film Festival]]
|UNESCO Award
|''[[11'09"01 September 11]]''
|{{Won}}
|-
|2002
|[[Zee Cine Awards]]
|Special Award for International Cinema
|''[[Monsoon Wedding]]''
|{{Won}}
|-
|2002
|[[Golden Globe Award|Golden Globe]]
|Best Foreign Language Film
|''[[Monsoon Wedding]]''
|{{Nominated}}
|-
|2002
|[[BAFTA Awards]]
|Best Film Not in the English Language
|''[[Monsoon Wedding]]''
|{{Nominated}}
|-
|2002
|Awards Circuit Community Awards
|Best Foreign Language Film
|''[[Monsoon Wedding]]''
|{{Nominated}}
|-
|2002
|[[British Independent Film Awards]]
|Best Foreign Independent Film - Foreign Language
|''[[Monsoon Wedding]]''
|{{Won}}
|-
|2003
|[[Satellite Awards|Golden Satellite Awards]]
|Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language
|''[[Monsoon Wedding]]''
|{{Nominated}}
|-
|2003
|[[César Award]]s (France)
|Best European Union Film
|''[[11'09"01 September 11]]''
|{{Nominated}}
|-
|2003
|[[National Board of Review]] (US)
|Freedom of Expression Award
|''[[11'09"01 September 11]]''
|{{Won}}
|-
|2004
|Director's View Film Festival
|Feature Documentary
|''Independent Lens''<ref>{{Citation|title=Independent Lens|date=1999-08-09|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486531/awards?ref_=tt_awd|access-date=2016-03-30}}</ref>
|{{Won}}
|-
|2004
|[[San Diego Film Festival]]
|Best Short Film
|''Independent Lens''
|{{Won}}
|-
|2004
|Toronto ReelWorld Film Festival
|Best International Short Film
|''Independent Lens''
|{{Won}}
|-
|2010
|[[Filmfare Awards]]
|Best Film
|''[[Kaminey]]''
|{{Nominated}}
|-
|2010
|[[International Indian Film Academy Awards]]
|Best Picture
|''[[Kaminey]]''
|{{Nominated}}
|-
|2011
|[[International Indian Film Academy Awards]]
|Best Screenplay
|''[[Ishqiya]]''
|{{Nominated}}
|-
|2011
|[[International Indian Film Academy Awards]]
|Best Dialogue
|''[[Ishqiya]]''
|{{Won}}
|}

== References ==
<references />

== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|0223526}}
* https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486531/awards?ref_=tt_awd

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhawan, Sabrina}}
[[Category:1969 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian women screenwriters]]
[[Category:Tisch School of the Arts faculty]]
[[Category:English emigrants to India]]
[[Category:Writers from London]]
[[Category:20th-century English writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Women writers from Delhi]]
[[Category:Hindi-language screenwriters]]
[[Category:Hindi-language Indian writers]]
[[Category:Columbia University School of the Arts alumni]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from Delhi]]

Sabrina Dhawan - Revision history

Aoufa: created initial details initial version