Karachi to Hollywood: Triple-Oscar Winning Pakistani Engineer

Academy Award winning Hollywood hits Frozen, Life of Pi and The Golden Compass have one thing in common:  Each used extensive computer-generated imagery (CGI) created by Pakistani-American Mir Zafar Ali who won Oscar statuettes for "Best Visual Effects" in each of them.

Pakistani-American Mir Zafar Ali With His Oscar Award For Frozen

Karachi-born technologist Mir Zafar Ali specializes in mixing art and technology to create beautifully realistic visual effects for Hollywood movies. He studied computer science at FAST Institute in Karachi. He then attended sculpture classes at Karachi's Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture.

Mir Zafar Ali worked at Karachi production houses Sharp Image and Nucleus Media where he created visual effects used in popular television commercials.  In 1999 he came to the United States to study film arts at Savannah School of Art and Design (SCAD) in Savannah, Georgia.

In addition to his Oscar-winning hits, IMDB lists Mir Zafar Ali's other credits as follows: "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" , "The Cabin in the Woods", "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked", "X-Men: First Class", "Hop", "Yogi Bear", "Aliens in the Attic", "Land of the Lost", "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor", "The Incredible Hulk", "Surf’s Up", "Spider-Man 3", "Ghost Rider", "Open Season", "Monster House", "Stealth" and "The Day After Tomorrow".

Mir is on a growing list of Pakistani-Americans making their mark in entertainment and sports. Kumail Nanjiani, a Karachi-born comedian, is currently starring in an HBO comedy series "Silicon Valley". The new Ms Marvel Kamala Khan is a Pakistani-American character co-created by another Pakistani-American Sana Amanat. Lahore-born billionaire Shahid Khan has made history by becoming the first non-white owner of an NFL franchise team when he bought Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011.

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