Salar Pashtoonyar is a filmmaker originally from Afghanistan and based in Canada. As a director, his films have screened at festivals worldwide, including Clermont-Ferrand International Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and San Sebastian Human Rights Film Festival. Growing up as a refugee due to forced displacements because of the wars in Afghanistan, he is drawn to exploring the lives of ordinary people that deal with abnormal situations caused by their surroundings and their hubris through a cinematic lens. Salar holds a diploma and master's degree in Film Production from Toronto Film School, and York University. He earned a Canadian Screen Award nomination for his short film Bad Omen in 2021.