About

Salar Pashtoonyar is a writer, director, and producer from Afghanistan and based in Canada. As a director, his films have screened at festivals worldwide, including Toronto International Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand International, and Telluride Film Festival.

Growing up as a refugee due to forced displacements because of the wars in Afghanistan, he is drawn to exploring the lives of ordinary people that deal with abnormal situations caused by their surroundings and hubris through a cinematic lens. Salar holds a diploma and master's degree in Film Production from Toronto Film School and York University. His short film Bad Omen was nominated for Best Canadian Short at the Canadian Screen Awards 2021 and awarded the Student Oscar at the 2021 Academy Gold.