Mahmoud Al Massad is a Jordanian-Palestinian-Dutch visual artist and filmmaker. His visually striking documentaries explore identity, displacement, and resilience in the Arab world through an audaciously original lens.

Emerging from Zarqa, Jordan, Al Massad broke onto the international scene with “Recycle” (2007), winner of Sundance’s World Cinematography Award. His films, “This Is My Picture When I Was Dead” and the darkly comedic “Blessed Benefit” showcase his ability to fuse biting wit with profound socio-political insight, defying conventional storytelling.

Premiering at Cannes, Toronto and IDFA film festivals among many others, his work is celebrated for its fearless originality. His latest documentary, currently in production, “Asphalt” won 3 awards at Docs – in progress at Cannes festival in 2025.

With his upcoming projects like “Cinema Kawakeb” (2025), Al Massad continues to redefine cinematic language—one subversive frame at a time. This film has enticed him to delve deeper into the golden age of Egypt’s cinema, researching this extinct art over the past six years. “Cinema Kawakeb” has served as a bridge between eras and its profound influence on our cultural identity and contemporary artistic landscape. Al Massad has created collage installations and innovative new media, that reanimate these historical narratives, to encourage audiences to rediscover the stories of iconic figures and actors but also celebrate the timeless relevance of their contributions.