Hussein Al-Asadi
Hussein Al-Asadi (b. 1997) is an emerging director, producer, and cinematographer from Basra, Iraq. He began his career working as the Director of Photography for several short films. Soon after, he began to write, direct, and produce his own films. His first short “Eye of the Mountain'' was released in 2019 and premiered at the Ismailia International Film Festival in Egypt. In 2020, he produced and directed his second short documentary “She Was Not Alone.” The film won several awards internationally and in the Arab world for best short documentary film. He then decided to develop the short into a feature documentary. For this project, Al-Asadi has participated in the 80th Venice Film Festival’s Final Cut in Venice, El Gouna Film Festiva’s Cinegouna Platform, Doha Film Institute’s First Cut Lab, Close-Up Documentary Lab, Malmö Arab Film Festival’s Industry Days, and Red Sea Film Festival Market.
Huma Gupta
Huma Gupta is a Professor at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) based in Cambridge, MA, USA. 'She Was Not Alone' is her first foray into working as a film producer and impact producer. She began teaching environmental filmmaking at MIT in a 2023 course titled Climate Futures, Cities Past, producing six original short films set in Pakistan, Syria, Greece, Italy, and Armenia that deal with themes of drought, flooding, marble extraction, deforestation, and copper mining. Her first book "The Architecture of Dispossession” is a spatial history of migration from Iraq’s marshes in the 20th century. As a practitioner, she has worked on training programs using short films she shot and produced in Afghanistan. And she has worked for the United Nations-Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre to improve humanitarian response for persons displaced due to climate change and conflicts around the world.
Yasir Kareem
Yasir Kareem is an Iraqi filmmaker. His first short film "Kingdom of Garbage” premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival where it received a Special Jury mention (2015). The film also received the Best Short Film award at the 2016 Malmo Arab Film Festival in Sweden. Yasir directed two short films in Estonia, in part with Erasmus, European Union Program, and Kinoeyes European Movie Masters, which were titled “Impromptu” (2017) and "Vladimir" (2017).
Mohanad Al-Sudany
Mohanad Hassan Al-Sudany is an Iraqi cinematographer and photographer. He studied cinema at the Iraqi Center for Independent Film. Al Sudany has worked as a cinematographer in 4 feature films and he has been director of photography in 6 feature documentaries, 19 short films, and 3 drama series.His cinematography and photography has won 21 awards. And his work has been featured in local and international festivals, exhibitions, and workshops.
Hassan Aleidani
Hassan Aleidani is a film production manager based in Iraq with experience in both fiction and documentary genres. He has worked on films like “Eye of the Mountain” (short, 2018), “She Was Not Alone” (short, 2020), and “She Was Not Alone” (feature, ongoing). He has also worked with contemporary artists like Alia Farid on her 2022 film “Chibayesh” (The Marshes).
Saif Al-Tamimi
Saif Al-Tamimi is an Iraqi cinematographer, filmmaker, and video creator with over 10 years of experience in commercial documentary work. He is passionate about visual storytelling and has worked on various projects for organizations like Vice, BBC, Al-Jazeera, and Zain. And he has wide-ranging expertise in post-production software and film technology.
Raghad Kasim
Raghad Kasim is an Iraqi Executive Producer and Assistant Director. She has a background in media and communication. She was the executive producer on the short film “The Last Displaced” (2022) which premiered at the 2nd Red Sea Film Festival. Additionally, Kasim served as Assistant Director on the independent Iraqi film “Hanging Gardens” (2022) which premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival.