| Majid Al Ansari ماجد الأنصاري | |
| Birth Date: | 1987 |
| Birth Name: | Majid Al Ansari |
| Birth Place: | United Arab Emirates |
| Years Active: | 2000–present |
| Occupation: | Director, producer, writer, editor, production manager |
Majid Al Ansari should not be confused with Majed al-Ansari.
Majid Al Ansari (born 1987), is an Emirati filmmaker.[1] He is best known as the director of critically acclaimed film Zinzana: Rattle the Cage and Netflix's first Egyptian television series Paranormal.[2]
Al Ansari was born in 1987 in Abu Dhabi, UAE to an Emirati father and Kuwaiti mother. Al Ansari studied music at California State University, Long Beach before entering cinema.[3]
He started film at the Abu Dhabi Film Commission under David Shepherd. Then he moved to work at Image Nation in 2010.[4] During this period, he moved to Africa and attended the Maisha Film Lab in Uganda, a non-profit training initiative for emerging East African film-makers. After returning to UAE, he made his maiden short film The Intruder!.
Ansari made his feature debut film Zinzana: Rattle the Cage in 2015.[5] The film had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX, and then European premier at BFI London Film Festival. The film received critical acclaim and later won the award for the Best Arab Filmmaker of the Year at the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival. The film was then picked up by IM Global for world-wide representation, and sold to Netflix as the first Arab film acquisition. The film is reportedly the first film of its genre to be produced in the United Arab Emirates.[6] After the success of the film, he worked as an executive producer on three major Arab films: Shabab Sheyab, Rashid & Rajab, and Scales - which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival Critics Week in 2019 and won the Club Verona award for most innovative film.[7]
In 2020, Majid directed three episodes of the acclaimed Netflix series Paranormal. The series, based on Ahmed Khaled Tawfik's renowned novels, was the first Egyptian original series for the global streaming platform and was a top trending series following its November release.[8] [9] [10]
| Year | Film | Role | Genre | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Sea Shadow | Trainee assistant location manager | Film | ||
| 2011 | The Intruder! | Director, producer, writer, editor | Short film | ||
| 2013 | Djinn | Assistant location manager | Film | ||
| 2014 | From A to B | Executive producer | Film | ||
| 2015 | Zinzana: Rattle the Cage | Director, writer | Film | ||
| 2018 | On Borrowed Time | Executive producer | Film | ||
| 2017–18 | Justice: Qalb Al Adala | Executive producer | TV series | ||
| 2019 | Rashid & Rajab | Executive producer | Film | ||
| 2019 | Scales | Executive producer | Film | ||
| 2020 | Paranormal | Director | TV series |