The Story

Basir Ahmed is a Pakistani audiovisual storyteller, award-winning filmmaker, musician, and multidisciplinary artist based in Karachi. He made his directorial debut with the short film 'Sir-e-Fehrist' in 2021, which was officially selected by Sessions at Lift-Off Global Network (UK) and subsequently screened at Pinewood Studios, England. Basir graduated from Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture as a design and film student in 2021.

One of his short films, 'Baba Jee', garnered six awards, three nominations, and seven selections at festivals worldwide - winning him 'Best Director' in two. Since then, 'Baba Jee' has been acquired for international distribution by IndieFlix, a US-based OTT platform. Basir has also directed music videos for artists such as Aima Baig, Ali Tariq, and Taha G, with the former being featured on the BBC Asian Network.

Basir's experimental archive film on the history of Pakistani Punjabi cinema, 'Manly Men', was exhibited at Lahore Biennale Foundation's Virtual Museum, a component of the British Council's PK/UK New Perspectives program, under the mentorship of Sarmad Khoosat for the program 'Manduva' in 2022.

Basir was one of five screenwriters selected from all over the subcontinent to participate in the ninth edition of the prestigious Qalambaaz Screenwriting Fellowship, run by Iram Parveen Bilal. As a Qalambaaz fellow, Basir is currently writing his debut feature under the mentorship of Sirah Haq - taking forward themes and characters he explored in his short film 'Baba Jee' - scheduled for completion in August 2023.

Additionally, Basir is a professional musician who tours with various artists such as Ali Tariq. He was part of Pakistan's first-ever NFT Exhibition 'Genesis 50+' held at spatial.io, where he exhibited his sonic piece 'Pr0p3rG@ndA' alongside 50 other artists from around the globe in 2022.

Inspired by cinematic greats such as Andrei Tarkovsky, Ingmar Bergman, Martin Scorsese, the Coen Brothers, Martin McDonagh, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Darren Aronofsky, Basir's interests lie in the psychological aspects of storytelling through audiovisual mediums - constantly exploring and experimenting with the form of sound and picture. He is particularly interested in telling local stories while trying to understand the identity of Pakistani cinema and his place within it. The themes that Basir tackles in his work include religious guilt, violence, injustice, machismo and moral dilemmas.

Influenced by music giants such as Frank Zappa, Thom Yorke, Steven Wilson, and Clint Mansell, Basir has a postmodern approach to his art and craft. He relies heavily on motifs and minimalist techniques as storytelling tools, and enjoys experimenting with organic and synthetic sounds to create soundscapes that underline the narrative. He also likes to incorporate emotional juxtaposition into his work. Basir is a skilled multi-instrumentalist, proficient in the piano, guitar, bass, drums, and various other exotic percussive and melodic instruments. He is self-taught.