Streatham & Clapham High School are very proud of alumni Nazrin Choudhury, writer-director of Red, White and Blue, which was recently nominated for an Oscar, for best live action short film.

Although the film missed out on winning the award, it has received much critical acclaim and excellent reviews from critics and audience alike. The story revolves around a struggling single mother who makes a desperate journey across state lines to obtain an abortion, which is banned in her home state of Arkansas. Ms Choudhury, who completed an MA in Screenwriting at the Northern Film School, has scripted episodes of British television serials such as Casualty, Doctors, EastEnders and Waterloo Road. She also worked as a storyline writer on Coronation Street. Her radio play Mixed Blood won the Richard Imison Award in 2006 and in 2014 she was selected as one of the ten finalists for the Fox Writers Intensive and moved to the United States.

Catching up with Ms Choudhury, following her recent nomination, she was pleased to share her memories of attending SCHS and her hopes for girls today. “I attended Streatham Hill & Clapham High School during one of the most formative time of any young person’s life and found myself surrounded by formidable young girls who grew into formidable women. This is what our world needs: women who understand their value, worth and their power and are able to own their space. I am so grateful to teachers such as Mrs Smith (English), Mrs Harris (History), Mrs Cohen (History) and Mr Cole (Latin) to name a few of the educators who were pivotal in my journey of discovering my voice and also giving me the space to express it. Though I studied Maths, Physics and Chemistry at A-Level with the idea of pursuing medicine, I became a storyteller and a filmmaker instead. This was a result of all the lived experiences I have had that gave me those stories to tell which includes my time at SHCHS.”

We wish Ms Choudhury success in her writing and film making career; she is truly an inspiration for girls at SCHS today.