Mahmoud Kaabour keynote speaker

Mr. Kaabour is a multi award-winning director, writer, and lecturer from Lebanon, based in the United Arab Emirates. With the record-setting successes of his work, he has emerged as the most distinguished documentary filmmaker in the region. In 2015, he was named as one of the 100 Most Powerful Arabs under 40.
His ground-breaking film Teta, Alf Marra (Grandma, a Thousand Times) screened to packed houses in over 55 cities worldwide, scooping up a staggering 7 major Audience awards and Best Film awards in London, Mumbai, Mexico City, Qatar, Syria, and China. With glowing reviews from top global press (including a “New York Times critics pick”), his film was the first Academy Awards qualification for a documentary produced in the GCC.

His film, Champ of the Camp, about the Bollywood singing competition in the labor camps of the UAE, is the first creative documentary to explore the world of the migrant laborers of the Gulf region. It premiered to popular and critical acclaim in a landmark screening at the Dubai International Film Festival in Dec 2013 and is set for wide release locally and internationally. It has already won “Best Production of 2013” from the Digital Studio Awards and has been covered extensively by global press including CNN, BBC, al Jazeera, France24, NPR, and the International Herald Tribune.

Kaabour graduated with distinction from the Mel Oppenheim School of Cinema in Montreal. His first film Being Osama, the documentary on the lives and times of six men sharing bin Laden’s first name in the post 9/11 world, received four international awards and was aired on twelve international channels. It also made him the youngest commissioned filmmaker in the history of Canadian television.

Kaabour is the founder and managing director of Veritas Films, the UAE’s leading production company for non-fiction films. His commercial work includes directing dozens of tailor-made documentaries for the UAE’s top governmental and corporate entities. In additional to his corporate and creative directorial work, he provides media consultancy and curatorial services, as well as teaching master documentary classes to up-and-coming filmmakers.

Awards:
Mahmoud Kaabour:
- 100 Most Powerful Arabs under 40
- Humanitarian - Esquire Man At His Best Awards 2014
- Best Production Award for ´Champ of the Camp` at Digital Studio Awards 2014
- Audience Award for Best Documentary at Doha Tribeca Film Festival for ´Grandma, a Thousand Times`
- A New York Times Critics Pick for ´Grandma, a Thousand Times`
- Best Film at Mumbai film Festival for ´Grandma, a Thousand Times`
- Audience Award at Dox Box for ´Grandma, a Thousand Times`
- Jury Special Mention at Doha Tribeca for ´Grandma, a Thousand Times`
- Jury Special Mention at DocsDF Mexico for ´Grandma, a Thousand Times`
- Anasy Best Script Award for ´The Champ of the Camp`
- Best Documentary at Canadian National Youth Film Festival for ´Being Osama`