Majid Al Ansari is an Emirati filmmaker who began his career
as an intern at Image Nation Abu Dhabi, a media and entertainment company that
produces Arabic language films, documentaries and TV series. During his four
years with the organisation, Al Ansari worked on several international and
regional productions, including ‘From A to B’ and ‘Contagion’, and did a stint
in the LA office of Image Nation’s partner Participant Media.
He directed his first film in 2012, a short feature film
called ‘The Intruder’, which premiered at Dubai International Film Festival
(DIFF). ‘The Intruder’ received strong reviews and accolades including the
Golden Palm for Best Short Film at the Mexico International Film Festival, an
honourable mention at Boston’s Sci-fi Film Festival and an excellence award at
the Puerto Rico Rincon Festival.
His first feature film, ‘Zinzana’ (‘Rattle the
Cage’) aired last October, produced by Image Nation Abu Dhabi and starring Ali
Suliman and Saleh Bakri. The film tells the story of a prisoner awaiting bail
who is forced to play a madman’s game to save his family’s lives, according to
critics at IMDB. The film scooped Ansari Variety magazine’s award for Middle
East Filmmaker of the Year in February. He told the press this year: “I knew I
wanted to make films, so I started out interning, even at places where I just
cleaned the equipment or bathrooms at first. I never had a stable job initially
and pay was very bad, but that’s kind of a test of whether you really want to
do it or not.”
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