Personal details
- Professions: Director, Producer, Writer
Man, Yasir AlYasiri is one of those names that just keeps popping up if you’re into Arab cinema—hard to ignore, honestly. The guy started out making music videos, scooped up awards like they were candy (ten, seriously), and then just switched gears and dove headfirst into film. His short film "Murk Light" back in 2012? That wasn’t just another festival flick; it hit more than 30 festivals around the world and was the first Emirati film to show at Tribeca in New York. That’s no small potatoes. Fast forward a few years, he drops his first feature, "Shabab Sheyab," in 2018. People loved it. It kicked off at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, then just kept making the rounds everywhere. Not a one-hit wonder, either—his next big move was "122" in 2019, which made history as the first Egyptian film in 4DX. Imagine that—an Egyptian thriller you could literally feel in your seat. No surprise, it crushed it at the Egyptian box office. And he didn’t stop there. He became the showrunner for "Kaboos," Starzplay’s first original series in 2023, showing he’s not just about movies. Now he’s deep into "HWJN," set for 2024, where he’s directing, producing, and co-writing—basically wearing all the hats. This one’s got people buzzing all over the region. If you’re tracking the future of Arab film, Yasir’s work is pretty much a must-watch, always leveling up the game.
Kinda wild, but he jumped into music video directing at just 16. Not even old enough to drive in some places, and he was already calling the shots behind a camera. Most kids that age are stressing about exams or, I don’t know, trying to figure out if they should text their crush. Meanwhile, he’s out there pulling together shoots, talking to artists, probably bossing around people twice his age. That’s gutsy. Honestly, starting that young means you’ve got years to mess up, learn, and get better—by the time he hit his twenties, he already had a mini-career going. It’s not every day you hear about someone skipping the whole “assistant” phase and jumping straight into the director’s chair before they can even vote. That kind of ambition? It sets the tone for everything else he did later. You just know he wasn’t about to take the slow road.
Konidela Ram Charan