Haya Waseem is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker who directs commercials grounded in documentary instincts and intimate, character-led storytelling. Born in Pakistan and raised in Switzerland and Toronto, she began as an editor, directed shorts that screened at TIFF, Cannes, and Berlinale, completed the Canadian Film Centre Director’s Lab, and debuted her feature Quickening in 2021. She entered advertising with Variable in 2018, joined Epoch Films for US representation in 2020, and is now working with Object & Animal in the US, UK, and other territories. Her standout commercial credit is the Publicis Foundation “Work/Life” PSA for the Working with Cancer campaign, which won the Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Good and a Gold Lion in Health & Wellness in 2023. Other work includes Ad Council’s “Seize the Awkward,” Monte Nido’s “Hidden,” Dove’s “Real Compliments” and International Day of The Girl spots, Nike’s “Denis” portrait, a Lyft series including “Jerry,” Zabiha Halal’s “Meal of Gratitude,” Coca-Cola, and CBC’s Brand Canada immigrant short. Epoch partner Mindy Goldberg called her work “intelligent and warm,” drawing on diverse cultural imagery for touching human stories. She blends trained performers with real people and favors close observational camerawork and honest, emotional material.