He is best known for his work at the National Film Board of Canada, including the 2016 animated short Blind Vaysha, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

Ushev was born on 4 February 1968 in Kyustendil, Bulgaria, and graduated in stage decoration, animation, and make-up at Plovdiv's School of Scenic Arts.

In a survey of fifteen respected festival programmers and critics who were each asked to name the best animated shorts of 2013, the film that came out on top was Gloria Victoria.

[8] Blind Vaysha was also included in the list of "Canada's Top Ten" shorts of 2016, selected by a panel of filmmakers and industry professionals organized by TIFF.

He stated that upon hearing the news of his Oscar nomination, he had a strong emotional reaction: "When I heard the name of my film, I just stopped watching, because I fainted...