RELUCTANT WRITER
I never wanted to be a writer. An actor, director, even a production designer—yes. But never a writer. I came to the United States to study filmmaking. After reviewing my portfolio, a counselor at Los Angeles City College encouraged me to apply to AFI as a Production Design major. I was accepted but couldn't attend because I did not receive a scholarship. Instead, I studied acting.
I appeared in independent films, shorts, and stage productions, including Ben Guillory and Danny Glover's Robey Theatre Company production of For the Love of Freedom: Toussaint (the Soul), part of a three-time NAACP Theatre Award-winning run directed by Ben Guillory.
After completing the acting program, I returned to film school. Then, in 2003, everything changed. Despite having all my paperwork in order, I was placed into wrongful deportation proceedings simply because I was born in Pakistan. What should have been resolved in a week dragged on for nearly two years.
During that time, I was prohibited from attending film school or working. After eighteen months of unsuccessful attempts to find fault with my case, the judge finally terminated it. Yet for another six months, the threat of an appeal remained, leaving me in limbo.
During those proceedings, I began imagining scenes—call them visions if you like. To cope with the stress and uncertainty, I started writing them down. Those scenes became my first screenplay: Lethal Weapon 5.
Since then, I have written six additional feature films, a TV spec, and ten short films, eight of which I directed. No, I don't own the rights to Lethal Weapon, and no one asked me to write it. But writing that script—and making films during that period—gave me strength when I was terrified of being sent away for no reason other than where I was born.
So here I am: a writer.
And the craziest part? Years later, I learned that the senior immigration officer who put me into those wrongful proceedings was sentenced to prison for obstruction of justice and fraud.
NO, YOU CANNOT MAKE THIS SHIT UP!!!!
MY FEATURE SPEC SCRIPTS
Click on the photos below.
(No scripts are posted on this website, only title Artworks)
TOP-TEN AT WRITER'S GUILD FOUNDATION FEST-LA
TOP-TEN AT WRITER'S GUILD FOUNDATION FEST-LA
PAL-QUEDA
TERRA FIRMA
VIRUS
WRITER'S BLOCK
PAL-QUEDA
I have written 8 feature specs, one of my feature projects "Pal-Queda", a satirical-dark comedy got to the second rounds at Sundance and Austin Film Festival. It was also in the top-ten selected to be pitched at the Writer's Guild Foundation FEST-LA.
My short film "Dateman" was an official selection of 14 festivals all around the globe. The two other short films, "Faceless" and "Happy Valentine's Day" were the official selection of "Damah Film Festival". And "Love Hurts" was my entry for the Producers Guild of America's Weekend Short Film Contest honoring (late) Debra Hill. "Dateman" and "till death do us part" short films were screened by MPTF (Motion Picture and Television Fund) on their Creative Chaos Channel. The cast and crew were also interviewed after the screening.
Please click on the posters to watch the short films.
More info about the projects upon request.
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