OUR ORGANIZING TEAM
Nezar Andary, Artistic Director
Nezar Andary received his bachelor's from Columbia University and his PhD from UCLA. Andary is passionate about fusion and is an accomplished academic, writer, filmmaker and curator.
As a film producer and director, Andary's feature documentary entitled 'Unlocking Doors of Cinema' pays respect to an auteur, premiered at the Cairo International Film Festival in 2019. Andary has simultaneously over the last four years produced over 10 documentary shorts for Arab Film Studio that have screened in over 50 festivals.
Andary holds the position of Associate Professor at Zayed University. He teaches classes on literature, cinema, and Environmental Humanities. His most recent publications include a work on Anthony Shadid, “Homage to Anthony Shadid: Literature of a Journalist,” as well as a study on Ibn Khaldun in contemporary culture and theatre, entitled “Confronting the Symbol of the Intellectual.” Andary is the co-editor of a book series, Focus on Arab Cinema for Palgrave MacMillan, and has recently published a book entitled Cinema of Muhammad Malas: Visions of a Syrian Auteur.
Andary has curated various screenings in the UAE over the last fifteen years, most recently a series on Tolerance at Manaarat Saadiyat. .
With his own production Memories of Childhood a theatrical performance, he introduced the concept of documentary theatre to the UAE.
Andary’s hope is that Al Sidr Environmental Film Festival becomes a strong tradition in the Arab World.
Camilla Singh, Festival Producer
Camilla Singh is a multidisciplinary artist and curator whose practice includes installation, sculpture, drawing, photo and audio-based work, as well as performance, movement and collaboration. Singh has a history as an educator and an art critic. Her art practice is based in social research and investigative practices. She performs in the band MORTIFIED with dancer/choreographer Jenn Goodwin.
Singh is also the former Assistant Director/Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Toronto, Canada. She holds an MFA in Contemporary Studio Practice from the Dutch Art Institute in the Netherlands and a BFA from the University of Guelph, Canada. She has worked with Toronto’s Nuit Blanche in various capacities; as an artist Singh was commissioned to make two major interactive installations, as the Curator she presented Supernatural City with 10 installations by prominent international and local artists, she was the producer of MOCA’s independent projects, and she is currently a member of their Advisory Committee.