Record
Degrees, appointments, honors, service, and writing.
Education
- 2024 to 2027MFA, Digital Media & Design, film focus. University of Connecticut. Expected May 2027.
- 2021 to 2023Master of Film & Television, summa cum laude. Beaconhouse National University.
Experience
- 2025 to nowInstructor of Record, Digital Media & Design, University of Connecticut.
- 2024 to 2025Teaching Assistant, Film Writing, same department.
- 2024Freelance Assistant Director, Main Kahani Hun, Express Entertainment, Pakistan.
- 2023 to 2024Associate Creative Scriptwriter, Bayut Studios, Pakistan.
- 2021 to 2024Assistant, Chal Phir Cinema, Pakistan. Ultra-low-budget shorts and features, across departments on small crews.
Honors
- 2026Runner-up, Three Minute Thesis Competition, University of Connecticut. On worker misclassification in construction, the research behind Pay the Difference.
- 2025Graduate Fellowship, University Film & Video Association.
- 2023Dean’s Honor List, Beaconhouse National University. Received three times.
- 2023Erasmus Mundus scholarship, Kino Eyes European Film Masters.
- 2023Best Debut Director and Best Student Short Film, Nitiin International Film Festival, Malaysia. For Color of Sunset.
Service
- 2025Narrative short film judge, Snake Alley Festival of Film.
- 2024Panel moderator, “Education in Film, TV & Digital Media,” Connecticut Film & TV Conference, Goodwin University, East Hartford.
- 2024 to nowExecutive board, Graduate Employees Union, UAW Local 6950. Previously chair, International Graduate Assistant & Postdocs Affairs Committee.
Talks & Publications
- 2025“Abbas Kiarostami’s Methods of Bridging Documentary & Fiction: A Study of Close-up (1990).” University Film & Video Association conference.
- 2025“Film: The Ultimate Empathy Machine.” Languages Graduate Student Association conference, University of Connecticut.
- 2017Benedicti & The Magia Regna. Daastan.
Research & Teaching Interests
- Narrative filmmaking and socially grounded storytelling.
- Screenwriting, directing, and directing actors.
- Editing and color grading.
- Auteur cinema, world cinema, and cinematic realism.
- Documentary-fiction hybridity and critical video essays.
- Immersive media, virtual reality, spectatorship, and media ethics.