
Award-Winning Director | Fulbright Scholar | Educator
As a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) graduate in Film & Television from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Nabat Shir brings a singular cinematic voice shaped by her Central Asian roots and refined through Western training. She creates emotionally powerful, visually striking films that explore timeless themes such as life and death, love and betrayal, loneliness, memory, the search for meaning, identity, and freedom. Shir’s mission is to create films that expand consciousness and reflect the complexity of human experience. In her pursuit to expand the expressive capacity of film, she experiments with visual aesthetics, sound design, performance, complex characters, and screenplays that blend philosophical depth with emotionally gripping, engaging storytelling.
With over eight years of international production experience and a background that spans Central Asia, and the U.S., Nabat’s work has screened and won awards at festivals in Hollywood and Europe. Her short film The Window had its world premiere in October 2024 at two Hollywood festivals: the City of Angels Film Festival and the 20th Annual LA Femme International Film Festival, earning Best Female Director at the City of Angels Film Festival, as well as accolades for Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Design, and Best Short Film across multiple European festivals.
That same year, she directed Mimi Meets Mio, a commercial for Kraft Heinz’s Mio brand, which won a Southeast Student Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts (NATAS) — one of the highest honors for student filmmakers in television. The spot also won a Bronze Pencil at The One Club for Creativity’s Young Ones Awards, one of the world’s most prestigious student advertising competitions, held in New York City.
Nabat’s creative journey began with co-founding ARGACH FILMS in 2016. In 2020, she directed To Mother, a music video for acclaimed Turkmen composer Rovshen Nepesov, and Creator for the 48 Hour Film Race. The short film was nominated and selected among the Top 48 Best Short Films in Central Asia, with Shir taking on the roles of director, producer, writer, and editor.
In addition to her work as a director, Nabat Shir is an educator and advocate for the amplification of female perspectives in storytelling. In 2024, she launched and led Women in Film: Directing Fundamentals, a hands-on training program in Turkmenistan designed to equip aspiring female filmmakers with foundational directing skills. Through mentorship and education, she is building a legacy of storytelling that is inclusive, empowering, and transformative. Nabat Shir is a Fulbright Fellow, Student Emmy Award-winning director, screenwriter, and producer from Turkmenistan (Central Asia). She is the first filmmaker from her country to premiere a film in Hollywood and to be awarded a Fulbright Grant — a prestigious U.S. scholarship, awarded for academic merit, professional potential, and leadership. Shir is an alumna of the Edmund S. Muskie Professional Fellowship Program (2023).



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

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

Cultural Event hosted by the U.S. Embassy in 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
FULBRIGHT GRANT, 2021–2024
(Highly prestigious international academic exchange program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, awarded for academic merit, professional potential, and leadership.)
Edmund S. Muskie Professional Fellowship Program, 2023
(U.S. Department of State-funded summer fellowship providing selected Fulbright scholars from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia with professional internship opportunities to enhance their graduate studies and foster cross-cultural understanding.)
Southeast Student EMMY – NATAS Student Production Award
Mimi Meets Mio Commercial (Director) – 2025
(Recognized by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.)
BRONZE PENCIL – The One Club for Creativity’s Young Ones Award, 2024
Mimi Meets Mio Commercial (Director) – The One Club for Creativity
(A global benchmark in advertising and branded content creativity.)
BEST FEMALE DIRECTOR – The Window
(Directed, Written, and Produced by Nabat Shir)
City of Angels Film Festival, 2024
BEST SHORT FILM – The Window
Golden Nugget International Film Festival, Autumn 2024 Ed.
BEST SCREENPLAY – The Window
Sipontum Arthouse International Film Festival, 2024, Autumn 2024 Ed.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – Yuuki Shimizu for The Window
(Directed by Nabat Shir) – Sipontum Arthouse IFF, 2024
BEST SOUND DESIGN – Mark Otim for The Window
(Directed by Nabat Shir) – Sipontum Arthouse IFF, 2024
TOP 48 BEST SHORT FILMS IN CENTRAL ASIA – Creator
(Directed, Produced, Written, and Edited by Nabat Shir)
48 Hour Film Race, 2020
USG ALUMNI SMALL GRANT – U.S. Department of State, 2024
Women in Film: Directing Fundamentals training
(For women’s empowerment in film.)
FIRST PLACE – Turkmenistan Youth Poetry Competition
(Significant early national recognition.)