DRIFF in a jiff
Live Q&A with director Aqsa Altaf
One Small Step
A 9-year-old girl attempts to juggle the responsibilities of school and her younger siblings after her mother goes missing.
Meet the Filmmaker
Los Angeles based filmmaker Aqsa Altaf loves to capture moments that feel like they are stolen from everyday life with a cinematic edge. Being raised in Kuwait by Pakistani and Sri Lankan parents in a Muslim household, Aqsa is fascinated with telling stories that are diverse in nature and reflect on subject matters that are universal. She loves to dig for stories, characters, and circumstances that show the audience a part of the world and a side of humanity that usually doesn’t get much attention.
Aqsa graduated from USC School of Cinematic Arts. She was selected as one of the filmmakers to participate in the 2018 Werner Herzog Filmmaking Workshop in the Peruvian jungle where she made a film under Werner Herzog’s mentorship.
Her short film ONE SMALL STEP has won many awards and played at the American Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival 2019. It was also shortlisted for BAFTA Student Film Awards.
She was nominated for the Young Director Award 2019 at Cannes Lions. She recently got selected as one of the directors for the Disney Launchpad under which she will be writing and directing a short film for Disney+.
She is also developing her first TV and feature projects.
Miss the last Q&A with the Director?
Click here to watch as Nick Dragas, director of the short films Gone and Tough Love, shares his vision, inspirations and creative process with the DRIFF in a Jiff audience.
