New Voices: How Rabiah Rowther’s global education inspires her

Rabiah Rowther is a screenwriter, director, and producer based in New York City. Since 2022, she has served on the Screening Committee for the Hamptons International Film Festival. Her career includes roles in development and production at Jane Startz Productions, FilmNation Entertainment, and Milojo Productions. She was also an assistant to Emmy-nominated filmmaker Peter B. Barton on We Rise Up Singing. With directing credits spanning theatre and new media, Rabiah holds a BS from Boston University and an MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She recently completed her MFA in Theatre Directing at the Actors Studio Drama School.

We chatted with Rabiah about her career, inspirations and the what she sees for herself in the future.

How have your travels across the globe and experience as an expat from India helped inspire your work?

As I was growing up, moving from one country to another every few years really formed what art meant to me. I was incredibly fortunate to receive a global education, one that exposed me to other theatre, film, and literary traditions that diverged from the “traditional” western canon. This helped to foster an appreciation and recognition of culturally-specific and differing works, as well as created a strong yet malleable foundation that continues to focus my work through the lens of universality. I was also really privileged in that moving constantly meant that I additionally got the chance to travel around the world (a lot!), and that only meant further exposure to art and the ways the definition of art was challenged. Being able to explore space and environment –– and developing an awareness of the differences and similarities of various spaces and environments while I was growing up –– really helped to shape the kind of work I direct with regard to meaning and context, as well as enriches the worlds and circumstances I create when I write.

Is there a filmmaker whose career has inspired you?

Filmmaker Mira Nair often speaks to the clash of cultures and finding one’s own cultural identity in a world that is constantly changing and exchanging, which is something I’ve had to contend with all my life. I really admire her work as a director, as she brings truth and relatability to the stories she tells with a refreshing and timeless simplicity, even when they’re culturally specific or rooted in uniquely individual struggles and circumstances. Her works speak to the range that she has as an artist, a versatility that appeals to me as an artist now, and a quality that I hope to be known for in the future.

Do you have any specific aspirations for your career?

I just want to keep on making work that speaks to people. I love works that can make people laugh, I love directing pieces and writing scripts that even the most reluctant viewer or reader will enjoy. Along with this, I hope to broaden the view of what kind of art can exist in a commercial space, as well as develop stories that reflect the rich diversity of our world that has yet to be explored.

You can find Rabiah @rabiahrowther and www.rabiahrowther.com.