Meet Hassan Zee | Writer/Producer/Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hassan Zee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Ever since I was a little boy I had a dream. That dream was to be on the big screen on cinema. I saw my first film in an outdoor theatre when my dad’s orderly put me on the front handle of his bicycle and rode his bicycle near an outdoor cinema. I saw these people inside this huge screen, they looked like real people. I wanted to go live with them, talk to them, sing with them, dance with them. My dad was strict and we were not allowed to watch TV as we did not have one for long time so I had to sneak out into neighbor’s house to watch cinema on Sundays. Everybody told me you will have no future if you were an actor or filmmaker. So I went to medical school to become a doctor but I kept my dream of becoming a filmmaker close to my heart. After becoming a doctor I decided to go to America and pursue my dream of becoming a filmmaker. I came to USA with hundred dollars in my pocket and a dream. Today I am a writer/producer/director with six feature films which got theatrical distribution and now available worldwide on Tubi and Amazon Prime. There are many challenges to face when you are pursuing your dreams and challenges make life very interesting. Writing screenplays and telling stories is challenging, Finding funding and shooting films are challenging and most challenging is marketing and distribution. I love all these things associated with making cinema and love these challenges as I overcome them and learn new things along the way.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
San Francisco Cowboy is a film which I recently produced and directed, I would take my best friend to all the places where we shot the film. We shot the film in North Beach which has amazing historical places like Great Star Theatre and Chinatown. I will take them to Edinburg Castle on Geary Street for drinks. We shot the climax of the film in that bar. For amazing Italian coffee we will go to Cafe Poesia and ask Giovanni to treat us to some yummy pastries in Castro. He is the best pastry chef and he is only twenty six years old. For lunch we will go to this amazing little restaurant in Castro called Orphan Andy’s, Right around the corner is beautiful Castro theatre where we can see double features. Its my dream to showcase ‘San Francisco Cowboy’ movie there one day. For Pakistani food we will go to Naan n Curry where we can eat delicious chicken tikka masala and Palak Paneer. We can take a walk in Botanical Gardens in Golden Gate park and at night we have to go to Cats Club.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Julie Halverson- My American Mom, who always encouraged me to follow my path. She taught me a lot about American ways of doing things. She made me understand how to listen to people. I live in San Francisco, she is in West Virginia and now New Jersey but all I have to do is pick my phone and she is always there to help me come up with new solutions to challenges and keep on pursuing my dream.

Website: www.doczeefilms.com

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/doctorzee

Facebook: www.facebook.com/hassanzee

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@doczeefilms/about

Other: https://tubitv.com/search/Hassan%20zee

Image Credits
Hassan Zee