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          Nabat Shir is a director, writer, producer, actress, and entrepreneur from Turkmenistan, made history as the first filmmaker from her country to premiere a film in Los Angeles. Her award-winning short film The Window made its world premiere in October 2024 at two Hollywood festivals: the City of Angels Women's Film Festival and the 20th Annual LA Femme International Film Festival. She was honored to win the Best Female Director Award at the City of Angels Women’s Film Festival. 

           In her pursuit to expand the potential of cinema to craft a profoundly emotional experience for audiences and to explore the depths of the human experience, Nabat pushes the boundaries of film through a highly creative approach to storytelling. She experiments with visual aesthetics, sound design, performance, complex characters, and scripts that blend intellectual depth with poignant narratives. She experiments with visual aesthetics, sound design, performance, complex characters, and scripts that blend intellectual depth with poignant narratives. 

          Nabat is also the first filmmaker from Turkmenistan to win the prestigious Fulbright Grant—an esteemed U.S. government program that has fostered mutual understanding through international exchange for over 75 years. She holds an MFA in Film and Television from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and is an alumna of the Edmund S. Muskie Professional Fellowship Program.

          The Window has received high acclaim, winning an award from the SCAD Awards Department. SCAD covered the submission fees and officially entered the film into prestigious festivals. Supported by a grant from the Muskie Program, "The Window" has won three awards at the Sipontum Arthouse International Film Festival in the Summer 2024 Edition: Best Screenplay (short film), Best Cinematography (short film), and Best Sound Design. 

           The Window features an award-winning team. Nabat received the Best Screenplay award for The Window at SAIFF, while sound designer Mark Otim, an Emmy and Red Dot Award winner, won the Best Sound Design award at the same festival. Composer Marina Ortega Mira, a recipient of the Fulbright scholarship and the ASCAP Harold Arlen Film & TV Award who collaborated with the Emmy-winning collective Bleeding Fingers Music founded by Hans Zimmer and worked with Amazon, Netflix, and 20th Century Studios, added emotional depth to "The Window." Yuuki Shimizu, awarded Best Cinematography at SAIFF for "The Window." He is also the winner of the Los Angeles Cinematography Awards and Five Continents International Film Festival. He received three awards at The One Club for Creativity’s Young Ones Awards 2023. Haley Breese, the editor, is an award-winning talent recognized with the Katie Spikes Scholarship by the Savannah Film Festival.

          The "Mimi Meets Mio" Spec Ad, directed by Nabat for Mio (Kraft Heinz), won a Bronze Pencil at The One Club for Creativity’s Young Ones Awards in 2024. This prestigious award ceremony, held in New York City, widely recognized as one of the top student competitions in advertising and design. Her commercial "Privacy Trees" for Ray Lawns, which Nabat directed, wrote, and produced, aired on television in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA.

          Nabat's earlier short film "Creator" was shot as part of the 48 Hours Film Race in 2020, when she was a self-taught aspiring filmmaker. It was nominated and included among the Top 48 Best Short Films in Central Asia, where Nabat served as director, producer, writer, and editor.

        Shir started her creative journey in 2016 by founding ARGACH FILMS, a video and photo production studio. Her diverse portfolio features works such as "When Mom Hugs", "The Pomegranate Tree" short films, "The Secret of Success" pilot for a talk show, various commercials, and the music video "To Mother" for the Honored Artist of Turkmenistan Rovshen Nepesov. The emotional response from audiences, such as the tears shed while watching the film, confirmed for Nabat that she had found her calling.

          Nabat is dedicated to connecting with audiences around the world on a deep emotional level through the art of film. Shir is also passionate about sharing narratives centered on women, advocating for the amplification of female perspectives in storytelling. 

         

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The One Club For Creativity’s Young Ones Awards Ceremony: Sony Hall, New York City, May 13, 2024.

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Edmund S. Muskie Professional Fellowship Program’s Certificate Presentation Ceremony: Washington, D.C., 2023.

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Cultural Event of the U.S. Embassy in Turkmenistan.  Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 2021. As the first Turkmen filmmaker to win a Fulbright grant, Nabat talks about her expectations from participating in the program. 

Awards & Recognitions

 

Best Female Director The Window short film

(Directed, Written, and Produced by Nabat)
City of Angels Women's Film Festival, 2024

Best Short Film The Window 

Golden Nugget International Film Festival, Autumn 2024 Ed.

Best Screenplay (short film) – The Window

The Sipontum Arthouse International Film Festival, 2024

Best Cinematography (short film) -Yuuki Shimizu, Best Sound Design - Mark Otim – The Window

(Directed, Written, and Produced by Nabat)

The Sipontum Arthouse International Film Festival, 2024

Bronze Pencil The Mimi Meets Mio Spec Ad (Directed by Nabat for Mio, Kraft Heinz)
The One Club for Creativity’s Young Ones Awards, 2024

Fulbright Grant 2021 - 2024

Edmund S. Muskie Professional Fellowship Program 2023

Top 48 Best Short Films in Central Asia Creator short film
(Directed, Produced, Written, and Edited by Nabat)
48 Hours Film Race, 2020

First PlaceTurkmenistan Youth Poetry Competition

 

© 2024 by Nabat Shir

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