Rula Nasser

Rula Nasser’s got this wild, winding path in the film world that kicked off way back in '99. She jumped right in—BBC, Discovery Channel, all that jazz—rolling up her sleeves on international gigs before most folks even knew Jordan had a film scene. Then she switched gears and landed at the Royal Film Commission of Jordan, hung around for five years, and actually built up The Filmmaker's Support Program from scratch. That’s not some side project; it’s a big deal for anyone hustling in the region. After soaking up all that chaos and know-how, Nasser started pushing local films out into the world. Not just the safe stuff, either. Her first go, “The Last Friday,” crashed into the Berlin International Film Festival in 2011—first Jordanian film to ever pull that off. Then “Waiting for P.O.Box” hit the Cannes Short Film competition in 2012. She kept at it with “My Love Awaits Me by the Sea” at Toronto in 2013, and honestly, her fingerprints are all over more than 30 festivals worldwide. She doesn’t just stick to her own projects, either. Rula’s lined up talent and got things running for legendary names like Hany Abu Assad, Mijke de Jong, Mia Hansen-Love, and Xavier Giannoli. If you’re talking about somebody who’s basically the backbone for both local and international filmmakers in Jordan, you’re talking about her. She’s not just in the room—she built half the damn building.