Bassam Tariq

Bassam Tariq, born on October 22, 1986, is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter, originally hailing from Karachi, Pakistan. His substantial and diverse career, marked by various projects, led to him being featured in Filmmaker's "25 New Faces of Independent Film" in 2012. Notably, he co-directed and produced the Sundance-funded documentary These Birds Walk (2013) in collaboration with Omar Mullick. Tariq is recognized for his efforts to highlight the diversity of Muslim life and experience through his works. Beyond filmmaking, his ventures include blogging, writing, co-founding a halal butcher shop, and being a TED fellow. He shares his life in New York City with his wife and son. Tariq advanced his filmmaking career while earning his Bachelor of Science (BS) in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin in 2008. After college, he moved back to New York and worked in advertising as a copywriter at Saatchi & Saatchi, RAPP, and BBDO NY. In addition, he co-founded a halal butcher shop called Honest Chops in New York's East Village. Tariq also co-directed a PSA to encourage vaccination against polio in Pakistan. The Sundance-funded documentary, These Birds Walk, explores the struggles of street children in Karachi, living with the non-profit social welfare program, Edhi Foundation. In 2016, Tariq and Mullick were awarded the Art of Nonfiction fellowship by the Sundance Institute, an initiative expanding support for documentaries that explore contemporary social issues. As of July 2021, Tariq was in talks to direct the film Blade for Marvel Studios, and was officially hired in September 2021. However, Tariq stepped down as director in late September 2022 due to production schedule delays but continued his involvement as executive producer.