Asim Abbasi is a Pakistani-British film director, screenwriter and producer. He also has his own production company, Indus Talkies.

Asim Abbasi
Born
Nationality
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Director, Writer, Producer
Years active2012–present
Websitewww.asimabbasi.com

Career

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In 2012, he made the short film Anathema. In 2013, he made two more short films, Once A Man & Whore. Two years later, he made his fourth short film named Little Red Roses. All four were shot in the United Kingdom.

In 2018, Abbasi's first feature film, Cake, was lauded by critics. The Guardian's Mike McCahill wrote "Uncommonly alert to small, telling details, while more expansive in its attitudes, the result proves far richer and worldlier than anything previously observed coming down the Khyber Pass."[1][2][3] Cake was also selected to be Pakistan's submission to the 91st Academy Awards for best Foreign Language Film.[4][5][6][7]

In 2020, Abbasi further established himself as a writer & director with his critically acclaimed webseries, Churails (witches), which was hailed as a radically progressive shift from the mainstream narrative of Pakistani television.

Filmography

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Films

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Year Film Director Producer Writer Notes
2012 Anathema Yes Yes Yes Short film
2013 Once A Man Yes Yes Yes Short film
Whore Yes Yes Yes Short film
2015 Little Red Roses Yes Yes Yes Short film
2018 Cake Yes Yes Yes Debut as film director

Web series

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Year Title Role Notes
2020 Churails Director/Producer/Writer Web Series on ZEE5 and Zindagi
2024 Barzakh Director/Producer/Writer

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominated Work Result Ref(s)
2018 London Asian Film Festival Best Director Cake Won [8][9]
2019 18th Lux Style Awards Nominated [10]

References

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  1. ^ "'Cake' director Asim Abbasi back on set". gulfnews.com.
  2. ^ "Cake review – Karachi sister act ditches melodrama for real life | World cinema | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com.
  3. ^ "Asim Abbasi's new film Cake gives Pakistani cinema a boost". The National.
  4. ^ "Pakistan Chooses 'Cake' for the Oscars". Variety. 18 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Cake selected for Oscar nomination". The Nation. 18 September 2018.
  6. ^ "'Cake' representing Pakistan at the Oscars is an honour, says director Asim Abbasi | The Express Tribune".
  7. ^ "'Cake' drops out of the Oscar race". 18 December 2018.
  8. ^ "TheNews Weekly Magazine". www.thenews.com.pk.
  9. ^ Staff, Images (26 March 2018). "Asim Abbasi wins Best Director award for Cake at UK Asian Film Festival". Images.
  10. ^ "The Lux Style Awards 2019: And the nominees are... | The Express Tribune".
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