Amar's work traverses a range of style and form. Starting with a scripted background, Amar brings that same visual, story-driven approach to his documentary work.
A small sample of Amar's work.
NEXT STOP is an anthology comedy series that chronicles the lives of Black Torontonians struggling to stay afloat and sane in the sprawling city. Energetically paced and richly visual, the show charts a course through chaotic, surreal, and hilarious vignettes of Toronto ‘yutes’ confronting the challenges of life in a competitive, expensive, and rapidly changing city.
A young man reluctantly agrees to have lunch with his estranged father, where his dad reveals a secret that will change their relationship forever.
Starring Ray Ablack (Narcos, Orphan Black) and Sugith Varughese (Kim’s Convenience), this deeply personal short is Amar's return to scripted work.
IN THE MAKING is an immersive journey inside the artistic process. Host Sean O’Neill travels the globe alongside some of Canada’s most extraordinary creators as they bring new work to life and face moments of opportunity, challenge and reward.
In Season 1 of this groundbreaking new doc series, Amar’s episodes include Polaris Prize winner Lido Pimienta and Governor General’s Award winner Adrian Stimson.
Amar’s TV directorial debut was the Viceland series Payday, which sheds light on the financial realities faced by young people across North America. The series would take Amar to Baltimore, Salt Lake City, and Oakland. The Baltimore episode in particular has earned high praise for its breathtaking cinematography and honest portrayal of a city often mischaracterized by the media.
Payday was nominated for two Canadian Screen Awards in 2017.
Watch Full Episodes HERE.
In this beautiful scene from the Salt Lake City episode, taxidermist Andrea Silva teaches us about the artistry involved in her craft.
We Are Canada celebrates the next generation of talented and passionate change-makers whose works are shaping and defining our future in imaginative ways.
With young filmmakers like Amar at the helm, each episode of this prime-time documentary series and its online iteration follows present-tense narratives that will move and inspire.
In a case that may set a global precedent, “Stateless” illustrates the life of Canadian-born Deepan Budlakoti as he faces deportation to India – a country he has never set foot in. Victim to a turbulent childhood and stigmatization for his criminal past, Deepan not only faces the legal repercussions of being stateless, but he also deals with the severe internal struggle that comes with having one’s birthright to home revoked. Ultimately, Stateless is an examination of citizenship, identity, and belonging – if being born and bred in one place for an entire lifetime is not enough, then what is?
Imagine spending years in prison without being charged with a crime or knowing exactly what you’re accused of. A film about the human impact of the “War on Terror,” The Secret Trial 5 is a sobering examination of the Canadian government’s use of security certificates, a Kafkaesque tool that allows for indefinite detention without charges, based on evidence not revealed to the accused or their lawyers.
With this, his debut feature, Amar established himself as a daring new voice in Canadian cinema. The film received the 2014 Magnus Isacsson Award at RIDM, as well as the Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaker at Hot Docs. It would also be named one of Now Magazine's Top Ten Films of 2014 (Susan G. Cole).
Amar teamed up with designer/animator Julian Brown for the film's animated sequences, which received several accolades including an Applied Arts Magazine "YEAR'S BEST" Award.
A story of a Muslim Newfoundlander.
This award-winning short doc tells the story of Aatif Baskanderi, who grew up in a place where not many people looked like him or believed in the same things that he did. As a Muslim child of Pakistani immigrants, Newfoundland became home.
At a time of increasing racial and religious friction across the west, Aatif’s story is a reminder of what can happen when a community embraces difference.
Salaam B’y is currently on a remarkable festival run, and will embark on a cross-country tour in 2019. Visit https://www.salaamby.ca/ for the latest screenings.
The Good Son is Amar's award-winning first short film, which he made as student at York University.
It is based on the true story of a young Egyptian refugee who is asked to translate for his father as CSIS (Canadian Securities and Intelligence Services) officers question him in their home. Slowly, the questions become more and more hostile, and what started out as an interview, strategically turns into an interrogation.
The film demonstrates Amar's incredible ability to dramatize the lived experiences of real people in extraordinary circumstances. It would premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival and Amar would later be named of of Toronto's Top Ten Local Filmmakers by Cameron Bailey in Now Magazine.
Amar directed this two-part Branded series in which award-winning photographer Michelle Yee partners with food revolutionary and data apothecary Irwin Adam Eydelnant to figure out what Toronto tastes like. Literally.
In 2002, 400 of the world’s most talented jeans makers were suddenly put out of work when their employer outsourced denim production overseas. Overnight, 10 percent of the population of Cardigan, U.K., lost their jobs, as the country’s largest jean factory moved to Morocco. Now, Cardigan natives and apparel veterans David and Clare Hieatt are looking to put Cardigan back on the map by reopening the factory, and rehiring the original team to make the world’s best jeans. Along the way, they get some help from Meghan Markle.
