About

Anita Abbasi is a writer / director based in Toronto. Hailing from two disparate immigrant backgrounds: Pakistan and El Salvador, Anita’s work explores diasporic identity, disconnections to the “motherland”, our desire to be loved and Western popular culture. Cinema, music and laughter have always been places of belonging for her stories though mainly drama, often cross genres into comedy and dance musicals. She holds a BA in Creative Writing and Art History and studied directing under Deepa Mehta.  In the nine years since graduating, Anita has contributed to the work of other creatives in Montreal and Toronto in roles ranging from production assistant to associate producer in productions ranging from experimental dance videos to narrative features. In the last four years, she has refocused her resources on developing her own creative voice.  She has produced three short films with co-director Martin Baena: The Talent Scout (2015), French Poutine (2016) and Mariah que baile! (2017). Her first feature, Saturday Fuego Diablo is in development and was written with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.