After the star player of a men’s cricket team gets injured, an Afghan girl Saba steps forward at the finale of the tournament, against the demands of her traditional mother.
Saba’s story is inspired by the disbanded Afghanistan Women’s Cricket team, currently in refuge in Australia.
Our goal is to take the film to the LA Olympics 28 where cricket will make its grand return to the Olympics after 128 years.
We believe our film can push the needle on the Afghan Women Cricket Team’s inclusion in the Olympics where they can play under Afghan flag.
Amber Afzali @amberafzali is the face of our short film’s lead character Saba, an Afghan girl playing cricket against all odds in Houston, TX!!🎥🏏
Amber was first introduced to audiences in her breakout role as Esin in Rule Breakers @rulebreakersfilm in 2025, the internationally released feature inspired by the story of the Afghan Dreamers: the renowned all-girl robotics team from Herat, Afghanistan.
With Afghan heritage 🇦🇫 of her own, for Amber, the story reflects the many dimensions of Afghan girls whose passions, ambitions, and individuality deserve to be nurtured and celebrated.
Amber Afzali-Saba
Shahjehan Khan-Coach Kamal
SHAHJEHAN (@shajistan) is a Pakistani-American actor, musician, and media professional from Boston. His first TV appearance was as "Len" in Succession (HBO).
You can now watch him as Dark Darco's family gangster "Ali Sahir" on DELI BOYS (Hulu) and "Ozzie" alongside Dylan Sprouse in AFTERMATH (Netflix).
Shahjehan is also the face of the villainous "Quan Chi" in MORTAL KOMBAT 1.
Awesta Zarif- Nazia
Awesta is an Afghan-born performing artist, educator, activist, and public speaking coach based in NYC. After fleeing Kabul with her family as a child, she grew up in San Diego, where she first discovered her love for acting and singing at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts.
She got her BFA in Theatre Arts from Boston University and continued performing internationally in Shanghai, starring in 20+ stage productions along with film and TV projects. Most recently, she portrayed Soraya in the first national Broadway tour of The Kite Runner.
Join the Howzat Houston adventure!
Why Support?
Director + Producer’s vision.
We intend to bring a $5 Billion+ sport to the American audiences.
And it begins with Howzat Houston.
Cricket is a global game with an evaluation of $5 Billion+ with events like the Indian Premier League rivaling major American sports (IPL had 600 million viewership as compared to Superbowl’s 127.7 million viewership.) And cricket is trying its best to break into the American market. In 2024, we had the T20 Cricket World Cup being hosted for the first time in the United States last year. The USA Cricket Team (yeah, there’s an American cricket team!) caused a major upset as it defeated the well-established Pakistan cricket team. That propelled cricket to the American conciousness. If you live in a big city in the US, chances are there are multiple cricket teams in your city. Houston, TX, considered America’s cricket city, alone has multiple teams, tournaments and stadiums.
Everything is leading up to the LA Olympics 2028 where cricket will be introduced in the Olympics for the first time. When cricket will be played on American soil at the LA Olympics 2028, that will be cricket’s watershed moment in America.
However, cricket needs a story to connect with the American audiences.
As children of Asian immigrants we face the challenge of embracing American life while carrying the guilt of abandoning our parent’s traditions. We see this universal story unfold in our own lives, but not often portrayed on the silver screen. Cricket is a rare immigrant dominated sport in America with many South Asians playing this game. It has been uniquely able to bring communities from different nationalities, faiths and political persuasions together to celebrate this sport.
We truly believe Saba’s story humanizes the struggles of many immigrants and refugees that play this game in America against all odds, hoping one day to live their dream. And Saba will the face of American cricket - battered, bruised but hopeful for the future.
Devon Foster & Shuja Uddin
The Team
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Devon Foster
DIRECTOR + CO-WRITER
Raised traveling between diverse homes in Hawaii and Texas, Devon draws upon her mixed heritage - finding inspiration to tell both narrative and documentary stories. Devon directs educational documentary content for non-profit and governmental organizations. Her experience covers a wide range, from independent podcasts to fully-funded kickstarter campaigns. Her film and photographic work has been exhibited in her home states, and Oregon, Arizona, Brazil, and Ireland.
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Shuja Uddin
PRODUCER + CO-WRITER
Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, Shuja Uddin is a screenwriter, producer and the founder of Tishna Films. Graduated with an MFA in Screenwriting from Boston University.
Currently, Shuja is a media studies professor at Austin Community College Radio-Television-Film Program empowering diverse student populations to create meaningful cinema through accessible filmmaking avenues. -
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Matt Rifley
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Matt is a cinematographer, tv show creator, and visual story lover who grew up in the shadows of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. After spending years in the military, he immediately returned to his childhood dream of creating stories.
Matt has created several award-winning independent films, and launched an annual film festival in Austin. He co-created a weekly television show that spotlights the world of Texas agriculture.
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Jalal Uddin
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Highly qualified cricket coach (ECB/CA Level III/ PCB Level IV) with 20 year experience in cricket coaching from grass root level to top-level cricket and has represented the Pakistan National Team (1982-1986).
Jalal Uddin got the first ever Hat-trick in ODI Cricket against AUS at Hyderabad 1982.
Jalal is currently a cricket coach in Houston, TX and this short film is inspired by his cricket coaching experiences in Texas.
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Alishba Javaid
SOCIAL MEDIA INTERN
Alishba Javaid is a Pakistani American, Dallas-based writer and content creator dedicated to South Asian storytelling rooted in identity, history, politics, and advocacy. She studied journalism and international relations & global studies at the University of Texas at Austin and has done work for organizations like Asian Texans for Justice, Austin Asian American Film Festival, and the Dallas Asian American Historical Society. You can usually find her exploring a cat cafe, yapping at a book club, or attending a film festival!
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Endorsements
“This film will be able to show Afghan Americans as resilient and contributing members of society and the world.”
Haris Tarin, Vice President, Policy and Programming, MPAC
“This film tells the story of all the struggles that a girl goes through in order to play cricket.”
Javeria Khan, Ex-Pakistan women’s team captain and supporter of Howzat Houston.
“Cricket has the ability to bring people from all walks of life together and this film does just that.”
Javed Miandad, Legendary ex-Pakistan cricket captain and supporter of Howzat Houston.
“Don’t disappoint me, son.”
Jalal Uddin, ex-Pakistan test cricketer, world record holder, coach, executive producer and dad of producer of Shuja Uddin.
FAQs
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Your support helps cover production costs such as equipment rental, location fees, crew wages, actor fees, post-production editing, and festival submissions. Every dollar goes directly into bringing the short film to life.
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Tishna Films have partnered with Austin Creative Alliance who will be our fiscal sponsorship. All your contributions will be tax deductible.
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Absolutely.
If you’re Austin based, you can sign up to be part of the extras who will be watching the cricket match. You can also provide free meals for the shoot. If you are cricket player and would like to play cricket on screen, you can sign up to be a featured extra playing cricket in the film.
Finally, sharing our campaign with friends, family, or on social media is a huge help. Every bit of visibility brings us closer to reaching our goal. -
Contributors will be the first to know when the film is released! We plan to premiere at festivals and later provide a private screening link or public release depending on distribution.