Meet the filmmakers

This year’s edition of international Copenhagen based CPH:DOX documentary film festival will see the biggest Egyptian participation to date; eleven filmmakers, actors, writers and industry professionals from Egypt will be taking part in the industry and forum sections of the festival both on-site and online.

Running from March 23 – April 3, 2022, CPH:DOX is one of the biggest documentary film festivals in the world with a program ranging from the works of major international directors to showcasing new talent as well as facilitating opportunities for professionals to connect and potentially collaborate.

Seven of the Egyptian filmmakers and industry professionals are part of the Egyptian delegation invited by DEDI to participate while the remaining four have applied for accreditation through CPH:DOX and are supported by DEDI following a public open call made in January.

As part of the program, The Egyptian Delegation and accredited professionals will be participating in CPH:FORUM, a financing and co-production event as well as the rest of the industry programs.

The Egyptian Delegation: 

Mayye Zayed // Documentary filmmaker

Mayye Zayed is an Alexandria-based filmmaker and the founder of Cleo Media for female driven content production and impact distribution and a co-founder of Rufy’s Films. She is the director and producer of the award-winning feature documentary Lift Like a Girl (2020). Zayed has studied filmmaking at the Jesuits Film workshop in 2009/2010 in Alexandria after which she continued her studies at Wellesley College and MIT in the United States on a Fulbright scholarship. Besides directing and co-directing several shorts, documentary and fiction feature films she has been involved in other productions as a producer, cinematographer and editor.

Amr Abed // Actor and filmmaker

Amr Abed is an Egyptian actor and filmmaker. As an actor he has appeared in “Rags & Tatters” (London Film Festival, Munich Film Festival, 2013), “Exterior/Night” (Toronto International Film Festival, 2018), and “When We’re Born” (Gouna International Film Festival, Carthage Film Festival, 2019). Over the last few years, Abed has been shifting his focus to filmmaking. Among other works his short film “The Ditch” premiered at the Cairo International Film Festival in 2021. He is currently working on his first feature film; ‘Let Sleeping Dogs Lie”.

Sara Shazli // Filmmaker

Sara Shazli graduated from the American University of Paris in Film Studies and from the International Film and TV School (EICTV) in Cuba, specializing in directing fiction films.  Her last short film “Isabel” received the best short film award at the Cairo International Film Festival in the official competition “Cinema of Tomorrow” in 2020.  Her latest feature documentary “Back Home” premiered at El Gouna International Film Festival in Egypt in 2021 and at the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival in Czech Republic the same year.  It won the best Egyptian film award at the 6th edition of the Aswan International Women Film Festival (Egypt). She is currently working on her second documentary feature film “Searching for Woody” and on her first feature fiction  “Nour”.

Shaza Moharam // Documentary filmmaker and actress

Shaza Moharam works both in front of and behind the camera with directing, writing and producing film as well as acting both on screen and on stage. Moharam’s debut feature documentary ”Ahlam” was awarded Best Documentary at the Young Cuban Film Festival ICAIC. Currently, she is developing a personal documentary called “Mnemosyne”, that further explores the boundaries between documentary and fiction. She is a Berlinale Talent 2021.  She has also worked on expanding the reach of film to vulnerable populations through filmmaking and scriptwriting workshops in collaboration with several local NGOs.

Andrew Mohsen // Film critic and programmer

Andrew Mohsen is a film critic and programmer, currently working as the artistic director of Cairo International Film Festival. He writes in several periodicals and for websites including Al Film magazine, FilFan website, and E3lam website. He is a member of the Egyptian Film Critics Association (FIPRESCI). His experience working in the film industry expands to many different areas such as a script consultant for short films and a  jury member in film festivals in Egypt, Morocco and Lebanon. He was formerly the artistic director of Ismailia International Film Festival for documentaries and short films as well as Aswan International Women Film Festival.

Ahmed Al Saaty // Director and editor

Ahmed Al Saaty is a director, editor and all around film enthusiast. He started pursuing a career in film as a videographer in El-Shorouk newspaper, working there from 2012 to 2017. In 2016, Al Saaty enrolled in the Jesuit Cairo Film School, where he studied the different elements of filmmaking. In 2017, Al Saaty co-founded the production studio, LenStart Productions, while working on projects as an editor in various short films such as “Belia” (2021) and “Wanaset Yodit” (2021) as well as doing visuals and cinematography in other projects. His work as a director and photographer includes the short film “Yamor” (2016), which he shot using analog film. Currently, Ahmed Al Saaty is working on a new short film.

Ahmed Deiab // Filmmaker

Ahmed Deiab is a Cairo-based filmmaker and storyteller. Having worked as the communications officer for the Center for Arab-West Understanding, he began studying filmmaking at the Jesuit Cairo Film School while also establishing the production company Great Auk Productions. Through his company, he has produced several short films and documentaries, while working on his own projects, including his latest short doc ”Bianco” premiering at the 2021 Ismailia International Film Festival. Deiab is currently working on his debut feature documentary ”Open Heart”, a personal, yet microcosmic introspection -triggered by near-death experience- on his own life, hopes, dreams and regrets, which turn out to reflect the losses and frustration of an entire generation of Egyptian youths.

Jennifer Peterson // Producer and editor

Jennifer Peterson is a creative producer and filmmaker. She has worked in the Egyptian independent and commercial film industries as a casting director, producer, and assistant director, including for Mohamed Khan’s films ”Factory girl” (2013) and ”Before the summer crowds” (2016).  She has written and directed several short films, and currently has both a documentary and narrative feature film under development.

 Rania Zahra // Producer and filmmaker

Rania Zahra is an independent producer and founder of  “Paratales” video production house as well as being a storyteller, writer, actor, and aspiring filmmaker. Her drive for telling stories comes from a desire to inspire, educate, entertain people, and to affect a change in society, whether it be on stage, on camera, or through documentary making. She has produced numerous documentaries and directed the short fiction film ”Mouri”  (2016) and the short documentary “Flatmates” (2020) that won several awards at Masr Dot Bokra Film Festival 2020 and Visions Cairo Film Festival.

Haisam Abdelhamed // Producer, director and script writer

Haisam Abdelhamed is a producer, director and script writer. His films have been included in numerous international film festivals such as Kazan Film Festival, URTI Grand Prix for Documentary, DIG Award for Investigative Journalism films among others as well as winning several awards for best film. While working directly with filmmaking, he also works to connect young Egyptian filmmakers for them to find alternative sources for funding and distributing their films. This happens through his facebook page: “Film Festivals” which has been growing rapidly over the past few years as a go-to source of opening calls for grants and festivals.

Amir El-Shenawy // Director and producer

Amir El-Shenawy is an Egyptian documentary director and producer. He is best known for his feature documentary debut ”Kilo 64”, which had its world premiere at the Cairo International Film Festival in 2018. After studying journalism at the Danish School of Media in Denmark in 2011, Amir earned his BA from the American University in Cairo in 2013, majoring in Media Arts and double minoring in Film and Arab & Islamic Civilizations. He then received his MA in Screen Documentary from Goldsmiths University, London, in 2017. El Shenawy has been invited to teach documentary filmmaking courses at the American University in Cairo.

Read more from DEDI: 

Egypt at CPH:DOX 2022 

Light, healing and love

Projecting experiences

Promoting co-productions

The project was managed by DEDI’s project officer Doaa Fayyad.