Meshal Al-Jaser

Biography: Meshal Al Jaser was born and raised in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He became interested in film at a very young age. Since Saudi Arabia didn’t have movie theaters at the time, he decided to make his own films. At 17 years old, Jaser was the main contributor to Folaim’s channel and was one of the first Saudis to direct short films for Telfaz 11’s YouTube channels. Together the channels have garnered around 870 million viewers, and 8.6 million subscribers. In 2016, Jaser directed “Is Sumiaty Going to Hell?” a short film that addresses the struggle Indonesian maids face in the Gulf. The film received final nomination in Oscar eligible festivals, such as LA Shorts Fest and NewFilmmakers Los Angeles. It was also a winner of the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards and was officially selected in many other festivals. His next short, “Under Concrete,” released in 2017, was the winner in the worldwide Qomrah competition. This year, Jaser directed a United Nations campaign for refugees. He was also one of 10 Saudi directors chosen by the Saudi government to represent the Saudi consul in events at Paramount Pictures, Ace Theater, and the Cannes Film Festival.