Born in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Bashir is a Canadian-Egyptian filmmaker with over 15 years in the industry across the globe. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in engineering, he became enamored with storytelling when he picked up an old film camera.

Compelled to follow his passion, he began his journey of seeking and expressing the tales he came across. With a keen eye and camera in hand, Bashir’s storytelling experiences span over 30 countries.

His first film, A‎‎’ynan, was a mockumentary that was inducted into the American Library of Congress for Middle Eastern Studies.

He went on to spend time in the trenches as a hot zone journalist during the Arab Spring in 2011 telling the stories of humanity.

During that time, he was the DOP and field producer of Before The Spring After The Fall by Academy Award nominated director Jed Rothstein and Academy Award winning producer Fisher Stevens. During the throws of the revolutions, he was DOP and field producer of the Egyptian edition of the Take A Seat series, riding a bicycle around the entirety of Egypt for 3.5 months, which was selected for the official competition of the American Pavilion in Cannes Film Festival 2012.

After having established a strong portfolio, he began his more commercial work ranging from celebrity and fashion photography to TV commercials and music videos.

In 2012, he was awarded the British Council Short Film Grant. In 2013 he was DOP for the Egyptian reality show ElMashrou3, following 14 young aspiring entrepreneurs as they competed for chance for investment in their startups.

He was DOP for White Sugar, a narrative film exploring the realms between reality and dreams, which was nominated for best short film at Dubai Film Festival in 2014.

In keeping with his storytelling vein, he was DOP of Hard To Find, a narrative short film that was part of Cannes Film Festival’s Court Metrage 2016.

Moving back to the UAE, he worked as Production Consultant at Image Nation Abu Dhabi, where he was field director and producer of Back to the Wild for the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, a film documenting the largest scale reintroduction of an extinct species back to into the wild. He also co-directed Quest Arabiya’s award winning first original program, the reality show King of The Streets. He also worked on the 5-part documentary series History of The Emirates.

He went on to serve as the creative director for the Public Diplomacy Office of the Prime Minister’s Office in Dubai with projects including the Arab Reading Challenge and Arab Hope Makers where he helped conceptualize, curate, direct and film the many aspects of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Initiatives.

Moving to Saluki Media as creative director and general manager, he continued his work writing and directing the Middle Eastern version of Spike Lee’s Da Republic of Brooklyn along with several other films and series for National Geographic Abu Dhabi.

His journey continued with the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and Zayed Sustainability Prize films in 2019.

His corporate and government communications work includes writing and directing the UAE DOH Malaffi campaign, the majority of ADNOC’s external communication films including many of the personal story films, IPO campaigns and major events like ADSW and EXPO2020.

He served as a Creative Consultant in the National Projects Office of the Presidential Court working on communications strategy, design thinking and creative storytelling.

He is also an award-winning children’s book author with his next book set to be published in June of 2023.