The Mood in the United States Today

Shida Kuo

WARD KAMEL

Ward Kamel is a Syrian filmmaker based in Brooklyn.

He is an Academy Nicholl Fellow, a Sundance Fellow and a Vimeo Breakout Creator. His latest short, If I Die in America, premiered at SXSW. His work has screened at Palm Springs Shortfest, Hollyshorts, Newfest, and NFFTY, where he won Best Director, as well as earning a Best of Vimeo Staff Pick and a Short of the Week selection.

Ward’s writing won Best Screenplay at Urbanworld, is supported by the NYU Production Lab, has been accepted to the Stowe Story Labs and placed in Austin Film Festival multiple times. He’s been nominated for the Colin Higgins Youth Courage Award at Frameline. The latest short he produced, Aziz, was a semifinalist in the Student Academy Awards®, while the last short he served as cinematographer for, Dress Up, premiered at Aspen ShortFest with screenings at Outfest, Indy Shorts International, Arab Film Festival and MoMA.

Ward is a graduate of NYU Tisch, and was the commencement speaker for his class.