Deepa Mehta, LLD (born 1 January 1950 in Amritsar, Punjab, India) is a Genie Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter, most known for her Elements Trilogy, Fire (1996), Earth (1998), and Water (2005), which was nominated for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Her repertoire includes Bollywood/Hollywood and the adaptation of Salman Rushdie's Midnight’s Children. Born in India, she migrated to Canada after studying philosophy at the University of New Delhi. Initially focusing on documentaries, she's received numerous awards, honorary degrees, and prestigious honours like the Governor General’s Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award and the Order of Canada for her groundbreaking work in film. Recognized for challenging norms, Mehta’s films are revered for their daring and provocative nature, earning her distinctions like the Best Canadian Director by the Vancouver Film Critics Circle in 2006. She also co-founded Hamilton-Mehta Productions, with her husband, producer David Hamilton in 1996.

Filmography

• 2023Donkeyhead — Executive Producer
• 2023I Am Sirat — Director
• 2023To Kill a Tiger — Executive Producer
• Yellowjackets — Director
• 2020Funny Boy — Director, Writer
• Little America — Director
• 2020Violation — Executive Producer
• Leila — Director
• 2016Anatomy of Violence — Director
• 2015Beeba Boys — Director, Screenplay
• 2012Midnight's Children — Director, Executive Producer, Co-Writer
• 2010Cooking With Stella — Writer, Executive Producer
• 2008Heaven on Earth — Director, Writer
• 2008The Forgotten Woman — Writer
• 2005Water — Director, Screenplay
• 2004The Republic Of Love — Director, Screenplay
• 2002Bollywood/Hollywood — Director, Writer
• 2000The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Journey of Radiance — Director
• 1998Earth — Director, Screenplay, Producer
• 1997Fire — Director, Producer, Screenplay, Story
• 1996The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Travels with Father — Director
• 1994Camilla — Director
• 1991Sam & Me — Director
• 1988Martha, Ruth & Edie — Director, Producer
• Danger Bay — Director
• For the Record
• Forgiveness — Director
• Sher — Director
• Troilokya — Director

Appearances as themselves (3)

• 2013Vocation — Self
• 2012Deepa Mehta, in Profile — Self
• 2000Filming Desire: A Journey Through Women’s Cinema — Self