Yasir Al-Yasiri

Irak

Yasir Alyasiri is an Iraqi filmmaker who started out in the industry producing and directing television commercials as well as numerous award-winning music videos for Arab superstars such as Hussain Al Jassmi, Mohammed Abdu and Assala.

Yasir studied directing at Manhattan University and his debut drama was the television series Ma asaab alkalam (2010) which received critical acclaim for its use of innovative filming techniques on television. He went on to direct the short film Murk light (2012), which was supported by the creative lab at twofour54 (an Abu Dhabi Media Zone Authority affiliated company). Murk light won the Black Pearl Award for Best Short Narrative at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival and participated in more than 40 international festivals, including the Tribeca Film Festival in New York where it was the first Emirati film to get selected for participation.

His first feature-length film, Shabab sheyab (2018) received positive reviews from both audiences and film critics, had its world premiere at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and then continued to tour the international festival circuit. He followed this up with the box-office blockbuster 122 (2019) which was also the first Egyptian film to be released in the 4DX format. In addition to directing one of the episodes, Alyasiri was the creator and showrunner of the hit Starzplay limited series Kaboos (2023). HWJN is his third feature-length film.