KASHIF PASTA is a Pakistani-Malawian director raised in Canada and based in Los Angeles.
Brought up on high energy American blockbusters, kinetic Bollywood choreography, and sharp British comedy, Kashif's fusion of cinematic energies is focused on grounded genre stories with a sense of fun, wonder, and purpose.
A finalist for the Pillars Fund x Riz Ahmed inaugural Muslim Artist Fellowship, Kashif's brand of grounded, heartfelt storytelling has resonated with audiences worldwide. He served as director and showrunner for all episodes of the hit TELUS episodic series "Welcome to Surrey", a South Asian-led comedy that earned over a million viewers and a number of best webseries awards around the world.
His recent short, Desi Standard Time Travel, is picking up awards at film festivals across North America right now (click for upcoming screenings), and his latest work, an episode of the anthology series Ramadan America is screening now. His debut feature, "Like Brothers" is set to go to camera in 2025.
As a writer, Kashif has contributed to TV writing rooms for Paul Feig’s Powderkeg, WarnerMedia, and CTV/Bell Media. He was an ABC Television Comedy Lab fellow for his pilot "Long Distance", and is currently developing a comedy-mystery series with Omnifilm.
As a producer, Kashif's work has spanned commercials, narrative, and music videos, the latest of which - "Meet You at the Light" - won the Grand Jury and Audience Awards at SXSW 2022.
Kashif is the co-founder of Dunya Media, a production company that empowers artists of color to tell stories with purpose. Dunya is one of Canada's leading BIPOC-owned production companies, producing national commercials, award-winning short films and live events like the Peabody award-winning HOMECOMING KING with Hasan Minhaj.
Outside of film and television, Kashif can be found traveling the world obsessing over architecture, food anthropology, and live comedy with his very patient family.
SELECTED PRESS
CBC: Filmmaker wants to BIPOC creators to engage in conversations beyond representation
CBC: Filmmaker wants to BIPOC creators to engage in conversations beyond representation
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