Biography: Umar Riaz (Urdu: عمیر ریاض) is a former student, Oscar-nominated filmmaker and photographer from Lahore, Pakistan. In 2009, he graduated as a university honours scholar with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and cinema studies from New York University's College of Arts and Science. He then graduated from the prestigious Graduate Film Program at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a Master’s in Fine Arts in filmmaking and production, where he was awarded an Ang Lee Scholarship for 'exceptionally talented graduate film students'.