Mona Zaidi is an award-winning Canadian writer/director whose work in film, television, theatre and photography draws inspiration from classic literature, art and mythology from around the world. She was born in Canada into a family with strong artistic and literary roots. Her father is an accomplished poet and tabla player, instilling in her an early love of literature, Indian classical music and mythology. Mona’s work, while distinctly modern, is still strongly influenced by the ancient artistic and spiritual traditions of the east.

In 2022 Mona was awarded the “Best Director” Award from BroadwayWorld.com for the play “My Own Private Shakespeare”  following critically acclaimed runs in Toronto, Canada and at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The play was also awarded “Best Play” and earned five star reviews from international critics who called it “brilliantly innovative” (LostInTheatreland) and “a magnificent performance… a powerful piece” (MooneyOnTheatre).

Mona is currently in development on an original fantasy television series project inspired by feminine archetypes in world myth and fairy tales. In 2021 she developed an original feature film project with WarnerMedia through the Access program, a talent activation initiative launched in 2021 by Warner Media in Canada in collaboration with the Canadian Academy of Film and Television.

In 2019, Mona was featured on the cover of Alt Theatre magazine, one of Canada’s leading alternative theatre and arts journals, discussing her award winning filmed series of adaptations from classics of world literature.

In 2018, Mona was one of only 8 Canadian filmmakers selected to create an original commissioned short film for the President’s Choice “Eat Together” Film Series. Her film, “The Table with 1000 Chairs” was screened at Cineplex Movie Theatres across Canada in July 2018 and has received over 1 million views on social media. That same year, Mona directed the sweeping WWII historical drama “Mirage” at the 2018 New Ideas Theatre Festival at the venerable Alumnae Theatre, Toronto’s oldest running theatre company.

Her 2017 short film “Unto the Kingdom of Perpetual Night” (adapted from Shakespeare’s Richard III) won Best Film at the 2017 Shakespeare Film Festival. Her film was selected from over 400 entries by 8-time Academy Award nominee Sir Kenneth Branagh and was awarded in the historic town of Stratford-Upon-Avon, U.K.. Also in 2017, Mona’s experimental film “Async” was selected for inclusion in the “2017 Async International Film Competition” in Tokyo, Japan. The film was created in response to legendary composer Ryuichi Sakamoto’s call for short films inspired by filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, using music from Sakamoto’s 2017 album “Async”. Mona’s 2006 short film “Small Potatoes” was presented at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, France, as an official selection of the 2007 European Independent Film Festival where it was heralded “…funniest film of the year” by festival organizers.

Mona is currently based in Toronto, Canada.

Recent News and Awards