The Filmmakers

Saleem Nasir Gondal

Writer/Director

Saleem Nasir Gondal (he/him) is a hard-of-hearing Pakistani American filmmaker. Born in Long Island, based in New York, his work explores themes of language and intimacy in BIPOC communities onscreen.

Saleem's work has been supported by The Black List, The National Board of Review, The Gotham, Tasveer, Pillars Fund, MPAC Hollywood Bureau and the Disability Belongs Entertainment Lab.

Saleem's short film SUPER SONIC has screened in five different countries, including the Austin Film Festival, TIDE Film Festival and the Asian American International Film Festival. Saleem's short POST TERM is a winner of the Focus Features | JetBlue Short Film Showcase and has been screened at CAAMFest, Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, International South Asian Film Festival of Canada, Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI), and more.

He has a BFA from NYU Tisch and MFA from Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema Brooklyn College.

Shahjehan Khan

Lead Actor

Shahjehan Khan (he/him) is a Boston-based actor, musician, and podcast producer. 

Co-founder of Desi/Muslim punk rock legends THE KOMINAS and more than 13 years sober, he has a deep understanding and appreciation for the highs and lows of community representation, having been an extremely visible part of these conversations since the early 2000's.

Shaj is now a versatile and blooming on-screen force. You’ll see him in Dylan Sprouse’s action-packed thriller AFTERMATH on Netflix and in shows like DELI BOYS, SUCCESSION, THE WALKING DEAD: DEAD CITY, and FOR ALL MANKIND. 

Malcolm Thorndike Nicholson

Producer

Malcolm Thorndike Nicholson is a filmmaker and writer based in San Francisco and Brooklyn. His latest project was producing CAITY alongside Mary Elizabeth Monda, a narrative feature film directed by Lindsay Calleran starring Morgan Spector, Zach Cherry, Chiara Aurelia, and Michelle Mao. Caity premiered in competition at Tribeca Film Festival.

His short form work has screened at BlackStar Film Festival,Nitehawk Film Festival, Bushwick Film Festival, Austin Comedy Film Festival among others. His commercial clients include Sony Pictures, Cetaphil, Smirnoff, and Riverside Entertainment. He received his MFA in Directing at Brooklyn College in 2021 and has taught filmmaking at Brooklyn College and New York Film Academy.

Before working in film he worked as a writer, fact-checker, and editor for publications such as New York magazine, The New Republic, Film Comment, Art in America, and Lapham’s Quarterly.