Nuh Omar

Nuh was born into the prominent Indian/Pakistani Kureishi family as the second grandson of Sattoo Kureishi (MBE), older brother of Omar Kureishi. Famous family alumni also include Imran Kureishi, Hanif Kureishi and Maki Kureishi.[1] He was educated at Karachi Grammar School, a classmate of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. His family frequently traveled on business with his father, a businessman, until his parents separated when Nuh was 11. He has an older sister and a younger brother. His mother was a photojournalist, which became his first exposure to the media industry.[2]

Omar decided to make films after seeing Jurassic Park when he was 5.[3] He claims that he became aware that he was watching something that someone made, and wanted to tell similar stories. A camera became his constant companion, and photography became his hobby.[2] He went to the New York Film Academy in 2006, where he participated and played a part in the creation of their first ever 2nd Year Film Program. He then went to Full Sail University where he received his bachelor's degree in The Science of Film, and was named Valedictorian.[1]

Shortly after graduation, Omar interned for Scott Gardenhour at The Institute, an experience he felt was extraordinary.[4] He worked as a freelance assistant director for a number of years, having worked on a few award-winning shorts, as well as working as a documentarian, shooting behind the scenes footage for small projects. He specialized in direction while at Full Sail University, and continued to do so after graduation.

Upon his return to Pakistan, Omar immediately took up the task of directing a series of short films for Engro Corporation Excellence Awards,[4] particularly a film on the late renowned sculptor Shahid Sajjad, a difficult task, as at the time he did not speak or understand any Urdu.[1] The films were produced by director Ayesha Jalil and Y Productions. He then did freelance work writing and directing for smaller, internet-based projects, as well as ghostwriting some director's pitches for commercials, until he attached himself to DeVida Lifestyle Channel, an entertainment channel, as a promo director. He left the channel after six months, dissatisfied with the work environment.

The Fortress of Dorkness lead team

Omar then found a place at advertising agency IAL Saatchi & Saatchi,[1] where he worked as a creative manager and copywriter under COO Imtisal Abbasi and ECD Rashna Abdi on Procter & Gamble brands. He worked on a number of global projects and brands, include Head & Shoulders, Safeguard, Pampers and Commander Safeguard.[5] He parted with the company in early 2014 to return to his passion of directing.

As of November 2015, he is directing and writing episodes for 'The Fortress of Dorkness', a YouTube resource channel for pop culture movies and comics created by producer Christian Villarreal.[6] As of early 2020, The Fort has produced over 100 episodes, all written and directed by Omar. An expansion to the channel's content was previewed in late 2019.[7]

In 2019, Omar teamed up with writer Mark Davis to produce Cleopatra, an episodic historical drama about the dynasty of the infamous ruler of Egypt Cleopatra, and work on the project is underway.[7]

He is currently in development of two feature films: The Imaginary Friend Society, a magical realism family film about imaginary friends;[1][4][7] and The Domestication of Henry, a noir-themed drama about a writer's determination to live out the cliches in his stories.[7] Also in development is a 12-issue fantasy-mystery comic book miniseries titled I'm Here white he created and is a writer of.[1][5]

Nur wrote and will direct a short film titled The Porter & The Stone, a contemporary homage to the Oscar Wilde tale "The Happy Prince"; the film is currently in pre-production.[5] A short film based on the island of Poveglia was being scripted as of 2019.[7] Both are set to shoot in and around Los Angeles.

• Nuh Omar at IMDb
• Official site