Majid Al Ansari (born 1987), is an
Emirati filmmaker. He is best known as the director of critically acclaimed film ''
Zinzana: Rattle the Cage'' and
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
's first Egyptian television series ''
Paranormal''.
Personal life
Al Ansari was born in 1987 in
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area.
...
to an Emirati father and Kuwaiti mother. Al Ansari studied music at
California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...
before entering cinema.
Career
He started film at the
Abu Dhabi Film Commission under David Shepherd. Then he moved to work at
Image Nation
Image Nation, formerly known as Imagenation Abu Dhabi, is an Emirati film production and media company that acts as a subsidiary of the governmental Media Zone Authority Abu Dhabi (MZA), which in turn is based at twofour54 in Abu Dhabi, the Un ...
in 2010.
During this period, he moved to Africa and attended the Maisha Film Lab in Uganda, a non-profit training initiative for emerging East African film-makers. After returning to UAE, he made his maiden short film ''The Intruder!''.
Ansari made his feature debut film ''
Zinzana: Rattle the Cage'' in 2015. The film had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX, and then European premier at BFI London Film Festival. The film received critical acclaim and later won the award for the Best Arab Filmmaker of the Year at the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival.
The film was then picked up by IM Global for world-wide representation, and sold to Netflix as the first Arab film acquisition.
The film is reportedly the first film of its genre to be produced in the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
. After the success of the film, he worked as an executive producer on three major Arab films: ''Shabab Sheyab'', ''Rashid & Rajab'', and ''Scales -'' which premiered at the
Venice International Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
Critics Week in 2019 and won the Club Verona award for most innovative film.
In 2020, Majid directed three episodes of the acclaimed Netflix series ''Paranormal''. The series, based on
Ahmed Khaled Tawfik's renowned novels, was the first Egyptian original series for the global streaming platform and was a top trending series following its November release.
Partial filmography
References
External links
*
Dubai Fest: Director Majid Al Ansari on His Neo-Noir ‘Cage’‘Zinzana’ Helmer Majid Majid Al-Ansari Receives Mid-East Filmmaker of the Year Awards
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansari, Majid
Living people
1988 births
Emirati film directors
Emirati people