Samina Akbari is a filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York who has been involved in the production of several short films and features. Her short film The Visitors will have its premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Born to an Indian mother and a Pakistani father, Samina grew up in typically American suburbs of Chicago. With family from both sides of the border, her childhood offered her insight into clashing political and religious cultures, as well as the ties that bind them. After studying photography and social history at Carnegie Mellon University, Samina adopted a nomadic lifestyle, taking photographs and seeking out art and culture around the world. She has lived in Pittsburgh, Spain, India and New York, and has traveled to over twenty-five countries.

Before starting graduate school, Samina worked in both film and international development. She founded the Neighborhood Movies Project, helping low-income children in Pittsburgh the tools to make movies. In 2003 she moved to a village in India near the Pakistan border through the Indicorps Fellowship. She spent a year and a half living and working with indigenous artists and farmers in the wake of a powerful earthquake. After returning to New York, she began developing her own film projects while continuing her day job with the UN Millennium Villages Project.

Samina is currently writing another short film and a feature screenplay as she pursues her MFA in film at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She has also worked as cinematographer on a number of short films, and was recently awarded the American Motion Picture Arts and Sciences grant to assist ASC cinematographer Nancy Schreiber.