Education
- Masters of Arts in Film & Media Production, New York Film Academy, Los Angeles, USA (2016-2017)
- Digital Film Making Workshop, Phillip Bloom, Dubai, UAE (2013)
- Bachelor’s in Media Sciences, IQRA University, Karachi, Pakistan (2009-2013)
Biography
Ahsen Ali has been Lecturer II and Technical Manager in the Communication and Design program at Habib University since 2019, teaching Film Production, Direction, Editing, and Cinematography courses, and managing the Film Studio facilities for the CND Program. He brings fifteen years of experience as a freelance Director, Director of Photography, and Editor across Los Angeles and Karachi, and over seven years of film teaching experience.
Before settling into his teaching role, Ali worked across the US and Pakistani film and television industry: as Lead Editor and DIT and Director/Editor on independent projects in Los Angeles (2018-2019), including editing the feature film Before the Dawn (directed by Jay Holben, nominated for Best Editing at the Focus International Film Festival 2019) and directing/editing the short film The Pale Red Dot (screened at Warner Bros. Studios, Hollywood) and shooting/color-grading Niara (screened at the Los Angeles Live Score Film Festival, 2018). Earlier, he produced behind-the-scenes video content for Coke Studio in Karachi (2014-2016), producing over 28 videos that reached more than 1.5 million views on YouTube. Since 2011 he has continued freelance work across the US and Pakistan, shooting and editing feature films, commercials, short films, music videos, documentaries, and corporate videos, winning Best Cinematography and Music Video awards along the way.
At Habib, his students have gone on to multiple film festival selections, nominations, and wins, and he continues to run CND Productions, a student-led video production company offering practical, industry-facing experience outside the classroom.
Skills
- Cinematography, Direction, Editing (Premiere Pro, Photoshop), Script Breakdown, Storyboarding, Photography; camera systems including Arri Alexa, RED, Sony, and Canon cinema cameras.
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