MEMI’s Participant
Sumer Abdelnasser
Sumer Abdelnasser
Egypt
Sumer is an Egyptian screenwriter and producer who is presently working as a consultant producer on the documentary film “Before The Final Picture” and as a staff writer on Tamer Mohsen’s TV series “Newton’s Cradle.” In 2020, Sumer co-wrote the screenplay for Shahid Original hit series “Every week has a Friday,” directed by Mohamed Shaker.
Project Title: This is Why
Project Logline: A romantic suspense drama in 1975 Egypt, about an affair that takes place between Gilan, a married veterinarian in her forties, and Rasheed, a family friend and police officer in his twenties. The course of their lives will change when Rasheed decides to establish a private investigation agency.
Tala Al-Husry & Luma Al-Hamarneh
Tala Al-Husry
Jordan
Tala is a screenwriter based in Jordan, who attended New York University and majored in Broadcast Journalism. She joined the film industry in Jordan and worked in production on a variety of different projects including advertising, a musical play and films. She joined the writer’s room at Jinn, the first Arab Netflix Original series. Her other credits include Zero Dark Thirty.
Luma Al-Hamarneh
Jordan
Luma Al-Hamarneh is a Jordanian producer who received a BA in Digital Filmmaking with First Degree Honours from Middlesex University. Over the past 4 years she produced multiple commercials, corporate videos and short films, as well as being a founding member of the city of Madaba’s first film house, Tatar Madabawi.
Co-writing Team: Tala Al-Husry & Luma Al-Hamarneh
Project Title: Outlaws
Project Logline: When a female gang leader and a corrupt female police captain team up to sell drugs, they end up in a power struggle over controlling their city.
Tala Arakji
Tala Arakji
Lebanon
Tala is a strategist in advertising and a writer with a passion for Arab narratives rooted in truth. In 2010, Tala graduated from the American University of Beirut with a
degree in Business Marketing. Through her years as an active writer, Tala’s writing manifested itself in many forms, such as screenplays, podcast scripts, and recently a chapter in a novel.
Project Title: Miit Batikha
Project Logline: A newly wed hyper independent Arab woman struggling to figure out her new role of ‘wife’ in the culturally complex world of Dubai.
Jamal Awar & Ashraf Mtaweh
Jamal Awar
Lebanon
Jamal Awar is a Lebanese filmmaker and actor with a background in activism for social justice. He directed two films: Art of Waiting and Ma Mada, in Beirut and London respectively, and a music video for Lebanese rapper “El Ras”
for his song “Bilal.” Jamal graduated with honours from Coventry University, where he attended a course titled, “21st-century media techniques.”
Ashraf Mtaweh
Lebanon
Ashraf Mtaweh, born in 1985, is a Lebanese filmmaker with a BS in Computer Sciences and a BA in Cinema Studies. He was attracted to theatre at an early age and joined a local theatrical group, performing and touring around Lebanon from 1998 to 2006. He was the showrunner of several short fiction and documentaries and a TV series.
Co-writing Team: Jamal Awar & Ashraf Mtaweh
Project Title: This is How I Died
Project Logline: Dead characters take time off from their not-so busy after lives to share with us the story of how they died.
Zeina Azar & Joseph Chamoun
Zeina Azar
Jordan
Zeina M. Azar is a Jordanian filmmaker with a Filmmaking Master’s degree from the UK. Her diverse expertise in the local/international film business allows her to consistently produce and cooperate on projects that examine Jordan’s urban fabric. Her aim is to shed light on the socio-economic relationships, with a focus on the narratives of the women in the region.
Joseph Chamoun
Jordan
Joseph began work within the production department in 2017. His interest in storytelling grew once he entered the film industry, and he chose to refine his writing abilities and go on a journey of crafting stories that strive to entertain while also providing social commentary on the society we live in.
Co-writing Team: Zeina Azar & Joseph Chamoun
Project Title: Al-Bacore
Project Logline: Secrets, deception, and betrayal fill the lives of four domestic workers in the refined suburbs of West Amman after their friend’s mysterious disappearance as they juggle between the struggles of their modest lives against the lavish ones of their employers.
Mona El Shimi
Mona El Shimi
Egypt
Mona Elshimi is a full-time scriptwriter at Sard Writing Room headed by Mariam Naoum, since 2019. With a background in psychology, acting, and social activism, Mona’s writing interests are centered around social taboos. Mona co-wrote “Khali Balak men Zizi”/ “Take Care of Zizi,” along with Magdy Amin, and supervised by Mariam Naoum, Ramadan 2021.
Project Title: Six Degrees
Project Logline: When Ragia is surrounded by red flags that her stepson Youssef is being molested by his father’s best friend Hany, she embarks on a painful journey to uncover the truth, costing her the stability of her family life, job, and reputation, which shakes her to the core erupting repressed memories of her own history of incest.
Maya Habli
Maya Habli
Lebanon
Maya is a Lebanese producer who created/co-wrote TV series that premiered on OSN, SHAHID, MBC and Netflix such as The White Noise and The Dean. Maya is also a lawyer, working in challenging cases; such as STL in The Hague. As a lawyer, writing was always a passion and it gave her the ammunition needed to create original content.
Project Title: Hinnd
Project Logline: Hinnd is a creative director for advertising companies in Lebanon. Convicted of treason for working in a company based in Israel, and After five years in jail the news of the peace treaty signed between Israel and Lebanon strikes Hinnd hard.
Rulan Hassan
Rulan Hassan
Saudi Arabia
Rulan Hasan is a Jordanian-born screenwriter and creative director who was raised in Saudi Arabia. She started
her career in writing and production by co-writing the Doon series, an action thriller on Viu clip, and Netflix Original Whispers along with other credits. In November 2020, she won the Honor Golden Valley Global Cinfest.
Project Title: The Last Session
Project Logline: After moving to his new clinic in Riyadh, Dr. Mokhtar’s dark past returns, challenging him to face his own psychological state through his patient’s therapeutic sessions.
Hajooj kuka
Hajooj kuka
Sudan
Hajooj kuka wrote, directed and co-produced AKASHA (2018) which premiered at Venice International Film Festival, BFI and AFI Fest. His 2014 feature documentary Beats of the Antonov premiered at Toronto International Film Festival and
won the People’s Choice Documentary Award. Hajooj was designated one of the Leading Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy Magazine for his work in Sudan’s war-torn areas.
Project Title: Afro.ai
Project Logline: An NGO lab runs underground tests on athletes in an African refugee camp. When Nubia dies, the lab tries to take her to Brooklyn for further analysis. Lahab struggles to free Nubia’s corpse.
Ahmed Nada
Ahmed Nada
Egypt
Egyptian writer, poet and storyteller, born in 1986. He graduated from dental school but decided to work in journalism instead of medicine. He has published two poetry books “Shortly After They Go” and “Alif Lanaa”, a collection of short stories under publication, “Dakhlet al-Najm”, and he also wrote the series “Kingdoms of Fire”.
Project Title: Devolution
Project Logline: After Zad escapes from the secret group “Al-Qahramaniyya,” she encounters a group of women possessing different supernatural abilities. All of them try to escape from their past, but the Qahramaniyya is blocking their way to arrest them and benefit from their capabilities in controlling the world.
Mira Nimri
Mira Nimri
Jordan
Mira joined Royal Film Commission – Jordan in 2018, and is currently responsible for fundraising for capacity building in filmmaking. Prior to this, she organized training programs for aspiring filmmakers in Jordan. Mira has a master’s degree in Development and International Cooperation from Finland’s University of Jyvaskyla and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Jordan’s Princess Sumaya University for Technology.
Project Title: Work in Progress
Project Logline: Quirky, young, and overweight Sireen struggles to climb the career ladder at her dead-end job as a training coordinator. When new CEO Diana takes over, Sireen works hard to get a raise or promotion.