Naji Abu Nowar

Born in the UK Naji Abu Nowar began his filmmaking career when he was accepted into the 2005 RAWI Screenwriters lab held in association with the Sundance Institute to develop his first screenplay Shakoush Hammer He then wrote and directed the short film Death of a Boxer 2009 which screened at international film festivals including the Palm Springs International Shortfest the Dubai International Film Festival the Miami Short Film Festival and the FrancoArab Film Festival Theeb is Najis debut feature film Abu Nowar has been added to the list of members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences He was also named 2014 Filmmaker of the Year by Variety magazine