Meet the Fellows

Introducing the 2020-22 class of Global Media Makers Fellows

View previous Global Media Makers Fellows:
2016 | 2017 | 2018

2020 marked the fifth year of Global Media Makers, and despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we continued our curation and support of the most talented filmmakers in the regions where we operate. GMM selected 12 Fellows from six countries to participate virtually in a Screenplay Development Residency in 2020. Then in 2021, another 28 filmmakers were selected from eight countries to participate in a two-week virtual program in anticipation of their LA Residency.

In Spring 2022, and for the first time in two years, following continual postponement due to the pandemic, GMM welcomed to Los Angeles our Fellows from the Screenplay Development Residency and an additional 16 Fellows from the group selected in 2021, for a total of 26 filmmakers from nine countries: Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Lebanon, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, Sudan, Tunisia and the UAE.

In total, 33 filmmakers and 21 projects were supported during the fifth iteration of Global Media Makers.

Whether virtual or in person, the GMM Fellows participated in intensive filmmaking tracks, which focused on screenwriting, directing, creative producing and documentary filmmaking, where they developed their current project through tailored mentorship with U.S. film industry professionals. In Los Angeles, the Fellows also had the opportunity to attend master classes, industry sessions, screenings, field trips, cultural engagement activities and explore the latest in immersive VR technology.

GMM is supported through a partnership between Film Independent and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Screenplay Development Residency 2020/22

* denotes a virtual participant

Rashid Abdelhamid* – Tunisia

Project Title: A Respectable Family
Project Type: Narrative Feature
Logline: In a heightened world where morality and respectability rule over society, newlyweds Achraf and Houda find themselves trapped in a prestigious “marriage academy” run by two lying gurus.

Rashid Abdelhamid is a Palestinian-Serbian producer who was born in Algeria, educated in Europe, and has resided in Gaza. After an architecture career, Rashid collaborated with Gaza-based filmmakers to found the Made in Palestine Project, an independent initiative to promote Palestinian visual art. In 2013, he produced and starred in Condom Lead, the first Palestinian short chosen for official selection at the Cannes Film Festival. Rashid is currently producing Apollo, a feature film by Palestinian directors Tarzan and Arab. In 2015, Made in Palestine Project’s first feature film Dégradé was selected for “La Semaine de la Critique” at Cannes.

Lotfi Achour* – Tunisia

Project Title: Red Path
Project Type: Narrative Feature
Logline: After a 16-year-old Tunisian shepherd is accused of being a police informant and decapitated by terrorists, his 14-year-old cousin sets out to return the severed head to their grieving family.

Lotfi Achour has directed a feature and three short films. His shorts have screened at over 200 festivals and have won over 80 awards at festivals like Clermont-Ferrand, Tokyo and Dubai. His short Law of the Lamb was selected for official competition at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, and his feature Burning Hope won ten awards and was screened at the 2016 Carthage Film Festival, in addition to festivals in New York, Beirut, Cinemed, Durban, Lausanne, Geneva and Paris. Lotfi has also directed over 25 plays, including Macbeth, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company for the World Shakespeare Festival.

Fizza Ali Meerza – Pakistan

Project Title: There Was a Boy
Project Type: Narrative Feature
Logline: After falling victim to bonded child labor at the age of six, brave young Iqbal Masih embarks on a journey to fight for his freedom.

Fizza Ali Meerza is an acclaimed producer and screenwriter with hits such as Na Maloom Afraad (2014), Actor in Law (2016), Na Maloom Afraad 2 (2017) and Load Wedding (2018). Her films push Pakistani boundaries by focusing on social injustices in a satirical manner. As one of Pakistan’s first independent producers, Fizza’s ability to take an idea and make it into a substantial production has transformed the Pakistani film industry and inspired emerging filmmakers. Her enterprising approach has been lauded nationally and internationally, and Fizza remains one of the few Pakistani producers who have achieved creative independence in the industry.

Lubna Bagsair – United Arab Emirates

Project Title: Banana
Project Type: Narrative Feature
Logline: An introverted teenage girl comes of age in her small town of Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates.

Lubna Bagsair is a director, producer and writer based in the United Arab Emirates. She has worked across narrative and documentary productions with Image Nation Abu Dhabi, where she gained experience in script development, screenwriting and creative producing. She has directed several narrative and documentary films. Her short film, Astray, has had notable festival success internationally. Before her filmmaking career, Lubna was a crime reporter for an English-language newspaper in Dubai, where she reported on criminals and atrocities alike.

Anissa Daoud – Tunisia

Anissa Daoud produces politically-charged cinema and theater projects. Her films have screened at over 250 festivals and received over 70 awards. In addition to documentaries and shorts for TV and the web, she produced Lotfi Achour’s feature Burning Hope and his award-winning shorts Father, selected for over 90 festivals, and Law of the Lamb, selected for over 80 festivals, including the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. She also produced Doria Achour’s Laisse moi finir, and The Rest Is the Work of Man, an official selection at Venice in 2016. Anissa is currently developing a documentary, two feature films and several shorts.

Ali El Arabi – Egypt

Project Title: The Legend of Zeinab and Noah
Project Type: Narrative Feature
Logline: To delay her mother’s funeral, a teenage girl and her friend steal the body, escape their village, and embark on a road trip tinged with the supernatural.

Ali El-Arabi is an Egyptian documentary director/producer who got his start directing documentaries at Dream TV and went on to produce documentaries for ZDF, Stern TV and National Geographic. In 2015 he founded Ambient Light, a production company focused on issues like refugee displacement and women/children’s rights. His first feature documentary Captains of Zaatari participated at Final Cut in Venice, won an IEFTA sponsorship and won a prize at the 2019 CineGouna SpringBoard Platform. He also won a post-production grant at Malmo Market Forum. El Arabi holds a degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from Mansoura University.

Bader El Ketbi – United Arab Emirates

Project Title: Banana
Project Type: Narrative Feature
Logline: An introverted teenage girl comes of age in her small town of Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates.

Bader Al Ketbi is an Emirati film producer who enjoys being involved in every stage of the filmmaking process, from development to delivery. His experience ranges from content development, to line producing and post-production producing, and he has worked on projects of varying scale, from big budget historical TV series to short web-based video projects. What Bader likes the most about being a producer is the mixture of creative and project management skills that are required to carry out the job. Bader’s interest in films comes from his childhood love of hearing and telling stories to others.

Ahmed El Zoghby – Egypt

Ahmed El Zoghby is an Egyptian filmmaker who studied Spanish at Ain Shams University and later took various workshops led by renowned Egyptian filmmaking pioneers. He started his journey as an assistant director on the film Clash, which opened the “Un Certain Regard” section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. He also co-founded the Cima film school, which helps students to develop their filmmaking technique. He co-wrote the feature Bershama alongside Mohamed Diab, Khaled Diab and Sherine Diab, and his current project, The Legend of Zeinab and Noah, is set to be directed by Yousry Nasrallah and produced by Ambient Light Film.

Ismahane Lahmar – Tunisia

Tunisian filmmaker Ismahane Lahmar trained at the Parisian Cinema School (ESRA) before obtaining her Masters degree in New York, where she directed her 2008 short On Your Grave. She wrote the feature Al Yasmine with support from Dubai Film Connection, and her shorts Rainbow and Get Married have screened at festivals in Tunisia and abroad. Ismahane wrote and directed the comedy feature Woh, and has attended international workshops with her projects I’ll Go to Hell and A Respectable Family. In 2019, she established Madame Prod, a company devoted to female-driven projects and genre cinema.

Nabeel Qureshi – Pakistan

Nabeel Qureshi is an award-winning Pakistani director and screenwriter who makes critically-acclaimed films that tackle social issues in a thought-provoking yet lighthearted manner. Nabeel’s realistic stories and unique style made waves in Pakistani cinema with his debut feature film, Na Maloom Afraad (2014), which won an award for best director. He followed up with his critically-acclaimed box office hit, Actor in Law (2016). Nabeel uses politics, pop culture and social commentary to create insightful, enthralling films that resonate with an audience. Touching on issues of economic inequality, his films hit close to home and aim to provoke change.

Gaby Zarazir – Lebanon

Project Title: The Fifteen
Project Type: Narrative Feature
Logline: In 1941, a pious but headstrong Lebanese woman’s attempt to host a lunch for the most important Catholic clergymen in the Middle East is derailed when the French Army invades.

Gaby Zarazir was born in Beirut. One day, he asked his mom for a brother. His mom nodded her head, and three years later on a beautiful April day, his mom delivered Michel. Gaby received a master’s degree in cinema from the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA). He writes, directs and produces films with his brother Michel. Gaby is trying to live to 140 years old. The comedy, absurdity and madness in their special films will make you smile, even in the most serious of moments.

Michel Zarazir – Lebanon

Michel Zarazir was born on a beautiful day of April. At first, he was angry at Gaby for taking such a long time to ask for him. Michel received a master’s degree in cinema from the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA). He writes, directs and produces films with his brother Gaby. Michel does his best to be elected Pope. The comedy, absurdity and madness in their special films will make you smile, even in the most serious of moments.

LA Residency 2021/22

* denotes a virtual participant

List of Fellows coming soon…