Maha Al-Saati
"From the West, the Sun will Rise" Feature film pitch
Maha Al-Saati is a Saudi-based, independent, experimental filmmaker interested in exploring women’s stories in the Arab World. She is also an honorary recipient of the TIFF Filmmaker Lab Fellowship – Share Her Journey Award and The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) residency 2021. Her short films include: “Fear: Audibly” (2017) and “Hair: The Story of Grass” (2018), a satire about how body hair shapes beauty standards and gender, and an official selection of Fantastic Fest 2018, Slamdance 2019, HollyShorts 2019, nominated NFMLA Best International Short Film Drama. Her “Cycle of Apples” (2019) screened at The Academy’s Arab Cinema Program 2019, Malmo Arab Film Festival and Mizna Arab Festival. Her feature project “Hejj to Disney” has been developed with the Red Sea Lodge, TorinoFilmLab, 2020 TIFF Filmmaker Lab, won a development award from El-Gouna Film Festival and shortlisted for funding by the Malmo Arab Film Festival. She is a Simon Fraser University alum, and assistant professor at IAU, and has taught a range of media and moving image related courses in both Saudi Arabia and Vancouver, Canada.