Qasim Basir

Réalisateur et scénariste africain-américain.

Qasim « Q » Basir has been taking the movie industry by storm for years now, but it wasn’t always about the movies. He was planning on a career in law until he flew through the window of a car during a traffic accident in 2002. He said that while recovering from his injuries, « I decided I needed to do what I loved, and make a difference while doing so. » That was making movies.

After completing his first project, 1Nation 2Worlds, he began doing just that. He took the film to Colleges and Universities all over the country, challenging students and professors to open discussions on the important issue of race. « I feel like ignorance is one of the most significant issues hindering our society today, » says Qasim. His next film, award winning short « Glimpse, » dealt with a different subject but had the same idea, erasing ignorance. But this time, as it deals with Muslims in America. Next Qasim went on to create a short film series aimed at supporting Presidential candidate Barack Obama. The series, Th Inspiration of Barack: « Yes We Can » Film Series, is a compilation of seven short films all dealing with different people who become inspired by Obama to take essential steps forward in their lives. Similar to 1Nation 2Worlds, he took the series to theaters around the country, urging attendees to get involved with the Obama campaign. « My whole purpose is to help change the world. Obama getting in office will be a huge step in that direction. » Because of his work on this series, Qasim recently received the « Inspirational Filmmaker of the Year » award from the Memphis Black Writers Film Festival. The series can now be found in Blockbuster video & iTunes.com.

More recently, Qasim has refocused his attention to his next feature film « MOOZ-lum« , starring Evan Ross, Nia Long, Danny Glover, Roger Guenveur Smith, Summer Bishil & Dorian Missick.


Source: Official website
www.qasimbasir.com/About_the_Artist.html