Sam Abbas (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: سام عباس; born 11 November 1993) is an

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is noted for his artfully composed, poetic, and incident-like tableaus film style.

Career

Abbas'

Alia's Birth ''Alia's Birth'' is a 2021 independent drama film by Sam Abbas starring Poorna Jagannathan, Nikohl Boosheri, Maya Kazan, and Samuel H. Levine. Cast * Poorna Jagannathan as Jaime * Nikohl Boosheri as Tess * Maya Kazan as Jenna * Samuel H. Levine as ...

, second feature, received attention following the announcement of a female-driven short film contest in which the winner gets to have their film included within the narrative. The film stars

Nikohl Boosheri Nikohl Boosheri ( fa, نیکول بوشهری) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Adena El-Amin on Freeform's ''The Bold Type.'' Biography Boosheri was born in Pakistan to Iranian parents while her parents were fleeing I ...

Poorna Jagannathan Poorna Jagannathan is an American producer and actress of Indian descent. She is best known for her portrayal of Safar Khan in the HBO drama miniseries ''The Night Of'', as well for her role as Nalini Vishwakumar in the Netflix teen comedy seri ...

, Samuel H. Levine and

Maya Kazan Maya Kazan (; born November 24, 1986) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Eleanor Gallinger on the television series'' The Knick'' (2014–2015). Personal life Kazan is the daughter of screenwriters Nicholas Kazan and Rob ...

. On July 13, 2020, Abbas released a 2.5 minute short documentary,

Rusted Caravaggios ''Rusted Caravaggios'' is a 2020 French short documentary film about the first public invitation to the Louvre Museum (Monday July 6, 2020) following an unprecedented four-month closure amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Background On July 6, Pari ...

, about the first public invitation to the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

Museum (Monday July 6, 2020) following an unprecedented four-month closure. Shortly after

Variety Magazine ''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based ...

revealed that Abbas had teamed with leading cinematographers from around the world to create the documentary Erēmīta (Anthologies). The anthology of shorts composed during the 2020 pandemic was both produced and curated by Abbas. In 2018, Abbas executive produced ''

Lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and easte ...

'' by

Matthew Puccini Matthew Puccini (born ) is an American filmmaker. He is known for his short films that deal with LGBT film, LGBT-related subject matters. These include ''The Mess He Made'' (2017), ''Marquise'' (2018), ''Dirty (2020 film), Dirty'' (2020) and ''La ...

which screened at the

2019 Sundance Film Festival The 2019 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 24 to February 3, 2019. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 28, 2018. Films U.S. Dramatic Competition * '' Before You Know It'' by Hannah Pearl Utt * ''B ...

followed by the 2019

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

. The film was immediately picked up by

Fox Searchlight Pictures Searchlight Pictures, Inc. is an American film production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is part of the Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. for 20th Century Fox (later 20th Century St ...

, making it one of the first films bought at Sundance that year. Abbas launched the first-ever Arab-based film production company, ArabQ, focusing on movies with LGBTQ themes, during the

68th Berlin International Film Festival The 68th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 15 to 25 February 2018. German filmmaker Tom Tykwer served as Jury President. American film director Wes Anderson's animated film ''Isle of Dogs'' opened the festival, becoming f ...

. ArabQ launched with Abbas' feature film debut, The Wedding, which he wrote, directed and starred in alongside

. Abbas placed the company in Egypt to encourage more queer cinema with Middle East ties. The Hollywood Reporter exclusively released Abbas's trailer for The Wedding, announcing that November 2018, the film will be released theatrically and secretly throughout the Middle East. Immediately following, the film was called, "The Queer Movie That Could Make Waves In The Middle East" and "A film that will make a fuss in theaters" Prior to his first feature, Abbas's short film Time to Come was labeled as "a really powerful project," by

LogoTV Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progr ...

Filmography

Film

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbas, Sam Living people 1993 births Egyptian screenwriters Egyptian film directors Egyptian male film actors Writers from Alexandria