Suroosh Alvi

Suroosh Alvi (born 26 March 1969) is a Pakistani-Canadian journalist and filmmaker. He is the co-founder of Vice Media, a youth media brand operating in more than 50 countries. Alvi is a travelled journalist and an executive producer of film, covering global youth culture, news, and music. He has hosted and produced award-winning documentaries investigating controversial issues, movements, and subcultures, including conflict minerals in the Congo, the Iraq War, and the rise of the Pakistani Taliban and global terrorism.

Suroosh Alvi was born in Toronto, Ontario to Pakistani parents, both of whom are academics; his mother is Sajida S. Alvi, whose focus is on Islamic Studies and Mughal history, and who is now professor emerita at McGill University, and his father is Sabir A. Alvi, professor emeritus in psychology at the University of Toronto. Alvi studied philosophy at McGill University.

Suroosh Alvi launched VICE with Shane Smith and Gavin McInnes in Montreal in 1994. Originally a punk magazine, VICE has expanded to include a network of digital properties, including VICE.com, TheCreatorsProject.com, Motherboard.tv and Noisey.com as well as a cable and OTT network, a record label, an in-house creative services agency and a book publishing division. Today VICE produces dozens of original video series, covering news, travel, music, arts, fashion and food, and has a network of correspondents and bureaus. As a journalist, Alvi has reported for VICE on HBO and VICE News, which together have received both Emmy and Peabody awards.

In 2014, Alvi served as a guest curator for the PHI Centre in Montreal and oversaw a month's worth of programming.

VICE Reporting

In 2006, as VICE was expanding from magazine publishing to video reporting, Suroosh Alvi reported a segment on the "Gun Markets of Pakistan." Since then, Suroosh Alvi has covered stories from around the world, reporting from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Gaza Strip. He has produced and hosted documentaries for VICE on HBO, VICE News and VICE Travel series. In 2017, VICE launched a multi-part series hosted by Alvi examining "the origins and impact of the world's deadliest terrorist organizations: al Qaeda in Yemen, al Shabaab in Somalia, Boko Haram in Nigeria, the Tehrik-i-Taliban in Pakistan and the Islamic State in Iraq."

VICE Music

In 2002, Alvi created VICE Music, the company's record label which has partnered with over 50 artists and sold more than 7 million albums worldwide. Clients have included Snoop Lion, Action Bronson, Black Lips, Justice, Chromeo, The Streets, Bloc Party, and Death From Above 1979. In 2011, Alvi launched a partnership between VICE Music and Warner Bros. Records.

VICE Film

In 2007, Alvi co-directed and executive produced the VICE Film, Heavy Metal in Baghdad - a documentary that follows the Iraqi heavy metal band Acrassicauda from the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 to the present day. The film was an official selection at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival and the 2008 Berlin Film Festival, and it was named Best Documentary at the 2008 Warsaw Film Festival.

In 2012, Alvi travelled to Jamaica with VICE where he produced the feature-length film, REINCARNATED, featuring Snoop Lion, along with director Andy Capper. The film was accepted at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and had its US premiere at the 2013 SXSW festival.

Alvi resides in New York City. He is married, and has a son.