ASSAD FOULADKAR / HALAL LOVE (AND SEX)

Assad Fouladkar was born in Lebanon, studied filmmaking at Boston University, then lived in Australia for a few years before returning to Lebanon. 

In Lebanon, Assad hosted a weekly radio show on cinema, wrote film reviews, directed two television series, all the while teaching film at the Lebanese American University in Beirut.

His thesis short God Have Mercy”(Kyrie-Eleison) won 13 international awards and was a finalist at the Oscar competition for "Best Student Film". 

His first feature When Maryam Spoke Out (2001) won various awards on the international festival circuit and was Lebanon’s official entry to the Academy Awards. 

The treatment of Halal Love (And Sex) was selected by "Open Doors" of the Locarno Film Festival. The film made its debut at the Dubai International Film Festival in 2015 and played at Sundance in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition 2016.

His upcoming third feature script, The Cedar Tree, was selected to participate at the Sundance Screenwriters’ Lab.