Shalmashi comes from a family with Iranian Kurdish heritage, she was born in Paris and raised in the Netherlands. After graduation from the national film school she wrote and directed several awarded shorts and tv films, and the interactive bigvillagestory.com, about the Iranian Kurdish diaspora and their shared revolutionary past. Shalmashi works as a screenwriter, director, film fund advisor, script consultant, and tutor and runs Avanti, a center for debate and inclusion.