Filmmaker Athar Abbas has built a distinguished career in Pakistan’s media industry and established himself as a prominent voice through his work. He started filmmaking with music videos and later moved on to directing movies, and also improved his storytelling skills along the way. With more than 10 years of experience in films, commercials, and documentaries, his work displays both creativity and dedication to meaningful stories. Athar was born on September 22, 1986, in Islamabad. He was raised in a family connected to the media industry. He developed an interest in photography and visual art at an early age. Athar completed his early education in Islamabad and later completed his MBA in Marketing from Preston University. He directed his music video Mast Nazro Se by Omer Inayat, which quickly became a hit, and it became a turning point in his career.
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After the success of his first music video, together with his brother Bilal Abbas, they established Athar-Bilal Films, a production company. Through the production company, he has worked with his brother on many creative projects, including music videos, short films, commercials, and documentaries. Over time, Athar Abbas has worked with the great artists of Pakistan’s media industry, such as Abida Parveen, Salim-Sulaiman, Sami Yousaf, Ali Haider, Falak Shabir, and Sahara UK. His work also won awards from Dawn, DW, Discover Pakistan, Pur Azam, and YDS.
Athar Abbas’s creative journey was not easy; it was full of challenges. During an interview with Arab News, Abbas shared that a difficult experience in a previous corporate job left him depressed after his work was dismissed as “Pathetic”. He didn’t give up there, but returned to filmmaking as a way to heal himself. “Maybe for an artist, there’s no therapy greater than his art”, he said. Later, Abbas started a series, Untold Pakistan, a storytelling series on Instagram. His project highlights the lives of ordinary people across the country, such as street vendors, single mothers, and travellers.
With its simple but emotional style, Untold Pakistan has reached millions of viewers and earned him a loyal following online. Today, he continues to focus on Independent cinema and digital media, using film to share stories about culture, resilience, and the human spirit.