The Wandering Company

Ismail Merchant

Ismail Merchant

Born in Bombay, Ismail Merchant lived and worked for most of his life in the West, completing his education at New York University where he earned his MBA. Merchant's first film was a theatrical short, The Creation of Woman, which was nominated in 1961 for an Academy Award and was an official entry from the United States in the Cannes Film Festival that same year. While en route to the Festival, Merchant met James Ivory, who agreed to form a partnership, Merchant Ivory Productions, More...

James Ivory

James Ivory

James Ivory was born in Berkeley, California and educated at the University of Oregon, where he majored in Architecture and Fine Arts. His first film, which he wrote, photographed and produced, was Venice: Theme and Variations, a half-hour documentary made as a thesis film for a degree in cinema from the University of Southern California. Ivory's evocation of the city was named by The New York Times in 1957 as one of the ten best non-theatrical films of the year. More...

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala was born in Germany, emigrated to England, and earned a degree in English literature from London University. In 1951 she moved to India after marrying an Indian architect; there, they raised three daughters. Since 1955 she has written a dozen novels, many of them set in India, including The Nature of Passion, Esmond in India, Travelers and The Householder, the last of which was her first motion picture project with Merchant Ivory Productions. More...