Workshop: Directing and Producing
Darren Ingram
Darren Ingram has a M.A. in English Literature with an emphasis in Film Theory from Arizona State University. Darren has taught Literature, Composition, and Introduction to Film courses for 10 years in Phoenix, AZ. He has also Co-Produced and Directed 2 feature length documentaries: King of the Mountain, a documentary following a rivalry between high school football teams in the middle of America’s Heartland and The Ticket, a documentary about that follows a handful of lottery winners and the consequences that winning has on them and their community. Daren has since retired from the classroom and works full time as president for Eclipse AZ (www.eclipseaz.com), a production company servicing Arizona and the greater Southwest. Darren has also founded Cause an Effect Films (www.causeaneffectfilms.org), which is a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching visual literacy and the art of filmmaking to young people.
Workshop: Lighting for Documentary
Savas Alatis
Savas Alatis is a Cinematographer of the highest order with 28 years of experience in the world of entertainment and sports.
His company, Cinema Verite inc., is a complete production facility that can handle any job from pre-production through to the delivery of the final product.
Being born into the business and working on his first TV commercial at age 7, with his father as an advertising executive in New York City, Savas learned the advertising world from the inside out.
Savas’ first 15 years in the business focused on production, which helps him to be a resourceful and valuable cameraman who has amassed a lifetime of unique and useful tools of the trade.
He owns his own 16mm, 35mm and HD Camera packages including a wide variety of specialty lenses, and uses these tools for a variety of jobs big and small.
Some of Savas’ clients include Major League Baseball, NBA Entertainment, NHL Productions, Major League Soccer, United States Golf Association, FIBA, Fox Sports, and a variety of commercial production companies.
Savas is also an accomplished still photographer and artist whose work is available on line at: http://savas_photography.photoworkshop.com.
Currently Savas is teaching Cinematography in New York Film Academy Abu Dhabi Branch.
Workshop: Editing a documentary
Kamil Roxas
Kamil Roxas is a director and visual artist whose work includes music videos, award-winning short films, photography and graphic design. Having been based in Dubai in 2007, he has since been awarded a spot in Sheikha Manal's Young Artist award as a promising young creative in the Emirates.
The inaugural Middle East International Film Festival has presented him with a Best Director award for his short film, Celebrate Life. He has then went on to screen his films in the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, Dubai Media City and the Bastakiya Art Compound. After having done an intensive filmmaking course in the New York Film Academy, he is currently enjoying a few creative collaborations with video documentary work and short films.
Workshop: Sound design
Zaher Akohshli
Zaher is a music producer /sound engineer specializing in orchestration and classic rock.
With over 12 years studio engineering experience in Dubai—of which the last 8 years he has owned/managed his own recording studio—Zaher can boast of a vast and varied portfolio. His orchestration work includes scores for independent films, themes for television programs, and synchronized compositions for animated projects. As a music producer, Zaher has worked with several up-and-coming local and regional artists to produce and record their tracks. During these years, he has also built up a strong client base of ad agencies, adding to his portfolio numerous broadcast television and radio commercials, for top brands such as Pepsi, Gillette, Visa, ...
In 1998, Zaher completed his B.B.A. in Business Management from Syria. Prior to this, he lived and studied in Russia for several years, having obtained a technical qualification in Sound Engineering from Moscow in 1994. It was during these years in Russia that he was first introduced to classical music, the philharmonic, and the world of orchestration.
Zaher’s deep-rooted passion for music dates back to the age of 13 when he formed his first band.
Panelists
Shadmehr Rastin
Born in Tehran in 1964, Shadmehr Rastin earned degrees in
architecture form Tehran University and screenplay writing from
Bagh Ferdows College. His screenplays for TV include, This Woman
Doesn’t Speak, Offsid , A Few Days Later, Zagros, and That Man
Came. he escreept calls as simple as that. He also has directed several
documentaries, including Chat, Building of Thought and Bigger than
Big. He was the Executive Producer of the documentary series, Tehran
and Youngsters. Rastin is a member of the Documentary Cinema
Studies Group in Iran. His script called" as simple as that" on the first prize in International Fajar film Festival 2008.
Kamran Shirdel
Kamran Shirdel (1939) is a 1964 graduate of Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia(CSC) in film directing.
In CSC had the opportunity to study directly under legends such as Roberto Rosellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Nanni Loy, Cesare Zavattini, Francesco Rosi, Gillo Pontecorvo, Vittorio De Seta , …
After returning to Iran, Shirdel started directing documentaries for the Ministry of Culture and Art. During the following three years he made his most renowned socio- political documentaries.
The Epic Of The Gogani Village Boy or The Night It Rained received the GRAND PRIX at The Third Tehran International Film Festival in 1974.Yet was immediately banned like his other films:"NEDAMATGAH ( Women's Prison - 1965), Qaleh ( Women's quarter-1966), Tehran Is The Capital Of Iran (1966) and others - until after the revolution.
Kamran Shirdel is considered a father figure of Iran's NEW cinema and documentary and mentor for Iranian cineastes such as Abbas Kiarostami, Amir Naderi, Mohammad Reza Aslani, Khosrow Masoumi, Mahvash Sheikholeslami, Soudabeh Babagap, Mahmood Rahmani. Some of the best films of the above mentioned directors were edited or supervised by Kamran Shirdel.
He has been awarded in many festivals such as LIFETIME ACHIEVMENT AWARD in Lebanese DOCUDAYS 2003. Leipzig, Reggio Calabria Int'l Film Festivals and Fike Int'l Fil Festival in Evora - Portugal.
Shirdel has directed and produced more than 85 industrial films.
His poetic documentary, Dubai: Pearl in Persian Gulf (1974) was premiered in Dubai during the first edition of Documentary Voices: Pulling Focus 2008.
Dr. Daoud Kadhim
A versatile environmental management professional with expertise in development and enforcement of environmental protection laws, proficient in the sustainable development and green initiatives.
He has acquired valuable knowledge and experience on soil chemistry and soil fertility across varied climatic and geographical conditions, overcame detrimental effects of soil contamination due to heavy metals.
As an Environmental Expert with Ministry of Environment and Water, UAE, established guidelines for Green Buildings and Cities, successfully enforced Environment Protection Law and brought it in line with international standards.
During 32 years experience in New Zealand, East Timor, Iraq and UAE, he has developed and enforced environmental laws, guided industries and communities in complying with the Environmental Standards and conservation of environment.
Dr. Hassan Hassoon
Dr Hassan Hassoon is an Assistant Professor at the University of Dubai the General Education Department, Dr Hassoon joined the UD since the year 1999 teaching Contemporary Environmental Issues and Mathematics , Dr. Hassan Hassoon awarded by the president of the University Dr. Omar Hefni for the completion of ten years at this thriving institution. Dr. Hassoon interest was directed towards the cotemporary Environmental Issues that is related to the GCC and the region. Dr. Hassoon is introducing two new courses on Water and the Future and the other course on Energy. Dr. Hassoon participated in many local and international conference on topics related to environment and energy conservation and mathematical modeling. He has published two books in Arabic an d English:
The Introduction to P-C computers and the Operating system MS DOS. 1993 edition.
Engineering and Numerical Analysis. 1999 edition.
Tania Mansour
Tania Mansour is a Senior Project Manager with Environmental Resources Management (ERM), a leading environmental consulting firm based in Dubai. She joined ERM in 2001 having previously worked for the World Bank in Washington DC. Tania has 13 years of experience working with multi-lateral and bi-lateral donor organizations and the private sector.
Her work has ranged from assisting organisations and companies in developing environmental management systems and carrying out due diligence audits to comply with international best practice as well as providing training services on the basics of environmental management, environmental and CSR related policies, and the implementation of technical specifications for environmental performance.
She is also currently supporting Dubai American Academy in establishing a green program for the school campus and engaging students and the academia in understanding how to be environmentally conscious.
Dr. Seyed M. Bozorgnia
received his Master degree in Economics from university of Missouri in 1983 and in 1993 his Ph.D. degree in Political Economy from Arizona State University.
He is the founder and the managing director of Caspian Trading Company, Inc.
A company established in 1986 in the U.S.A. whose activities have involved processing, import and export of food products. Caspian Trading Company, Inc. has office and warehouse facilities in the U.S.A., the U.A.E. and Iran. His responsibilities have included; overseeing company's daily operation, supervision of staff, purchasing of raw materials, and marketing and sales of final product worldwide.
He has been teaching various economics courses in the United States and the Middle East since 1980. He is presently Assistance Professor of Economics at Abu Dhabi University in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. and also lectures at Islamic Azad University in Dubai, U.A.E.
Dr. Bozorgnia is author of the Role of Precious Metals in the European Economic Development: From Roman Times to the Eve of the Industrial Revolution, which was published in 1998 by Greenwood Press, Westport, Ct, U.S.A. He is also a contributor to international edition of Economics by R. Glenn Hubbard and Anthony Patrick O’ Brien, published by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey U.S.A.. He is the economic editor of The Journal of Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, Emerald Journal Dubai, U.A.E. and a regular contributor to The National and other newspaper in the U.A.E.
Dr. Joseph Bulzarik
Dr. Joseph Bularzik Received a B.S. in Chemistry from Arizona State University and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from University of California, Berkeley. He has worked in Materials Chemistry as a Post Doc and visiting researcher at Princeton University, Iowa State University and University of Chicago. His work experience includes 12 years of industrial R & D for the Steel Industry and Magnetic Materials Industry. During this time he helped initiate a new start up company, was chairman for steel and magnetic conferences for IIT, ASM and IEEE and received two patents. Dr. Bularzik has continued his career in academia at The University of Notre Dame and Purdue University Calumet. He initiated the Student Research Office as the Director of Student Research along with his research in metallurgy of particular materials and chemistry education. Presently, Dr. Bularzik is the Director of the Environmental Science Program and the Director of Student Research at Abu Dhabi University. He will soon be joining the Higher Colleges of Technology as the Academic Dean for Applied Arts and Science. His publications appear in journals such as Inorg, Chem., J. Solid State Chem., Acta Cryst, J. Applied Phys., J. Chem. Ed., Powder Metal Report along with authoring chapters in chemistry text books.
Azadeh Saljooghi
Azadeh Saljooghi teaches film and communication courses at the American University in Dubai. Prior to AUD, she taught at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City where she also received an MFA in Film Studies and a PhD in Communication (critical cultural studies.) Her films have been screened at film festivals and academic conferences (Humboldt, Vibgyor, Diaspora, Women and Gender); her papers have been published in peer-reviewed journals (Screen, Spectator, Middle East Critique).
Azadeh was part of the Middle East and Central Asia organizing committee. In addition to being a member of the Society of Cinema and Media Studies, the National Communication Association, she has also been a keynote speaker, discussant, and moderator for various conferences. While in Utah, Azadeh volunteered as a host for the community radio station and a translator (Persian and English) for local refugee resettlement organizations.
Nezar Andary
Nezar Andary is an Assistant Professor of Film and Literature at Zayed University in the College of Arts and Sciences. He teaches courses ranging from World Cinema, Drama, and World Humanities in Abu Dhabi. While working as assistant editor and studying Comparative Literature and Film Studies, he produced and directed a creative documentary for UCLA, “Bruin International,” and one for creative theatre therapy group in Los Angeles. Since his undergraduate days at Columbia, Nezar has been curating film programs. Most recenlty, he was artistic programmer for Anasy Documentary Awards. As a professor, he has taught both production classes on documentary and short narrative film and also more theoritical classes on film adaptation and European Cinema. His Ph.D was on the representation of Arab history in contemporary film and literature. Currently, he wants to work more intensely on new documentary projects and figure out ways to promote cinema on a more organic level.
Shamin Yazdani
Shamin Yazdani has recently completed her bachelor degree in New Zealand, where she obtained a double major in Media & Communication, and Sociology. Her first point of contact with the professional workforce began immediately after graduating, when she was offered a summer studentship scholarship sponsored by UNESCO, to work in the capacity of researcher and visual documentarian on a research paper entitled ‘Waiora – People and Fresh water’; a project centered around issues of water shortage and sustainability in New Zealand.
Shamin’s passion lies with documentary film making, ever since making her first documentary about cultural diversity at the tender age of 11. Since then, Shamin has worked on several independent New Zealand short films in various capacities, prior to settling in Dubai.
Areeba Hanif
Areeba Hanif is a Dubai based filmmaker who has directed and co-directed several short films / documentaries in the region including "Ashes to Dust" and "Moksha" that toured multiple festivals in Europe and India. She is one of Apple's youngest certified trainers in Final Cut Studio 3 and covers a wide a range of post production subjects at SAE.
She claims to be super hyper active, loves anything Apple, cannot distinguish between air and chocolate and blames it all on the love of movie making. She also owns and runs a small boutique production company when she finds the time.
Matthias Gelber is an international trainer, speaker and business man with experience in 38 countries worldwide covering both the public and private sector. His focus areas have been environmental management and CSR over the last 15 years. He was given the Greenest Person on the Planet award in 2008 by 3rdwhale.com and he was named one of the Men of the Year in Malaysia by the Magazine Clive.