Biography

Amjad Abu Alala is a Sudanese director and producer, born in the UAE and raised between Dubai and Sudan. He studied directing at UAE University and began his career working as director and producer with various media institutions for Arab and Western channels. At this time, he directed many short films including STUDIO (2012), written and directed under supervision by Abbas Kiarostami. In 2013, Abu Alala received the Best Arabic Theater Script award from the Arab Authority for Theater for APPLE PIES, and in 2014, he began working as Head of Programming for the Sudan Independent Film Festival.

Abu Alala's debut feature film as writer-director and producer, YOU WILL DIE AT TWENTY, was a resounding success. After winning the Lion of the Future Award Venice International Film Festival, it went on to win 25 more awards worldwide, going on to become Sudan's first ever Oscar-submission for Best International Feature Film and cementing its place in the history of Sudanese cinema.

Since launching his production company Station Films, Abu Alala has gone on to produce a wide slate of features and shorts. Recent produced features include the THE BURDENED, CAPTAINS OF ZAATARI, and most recently, GOODBYE JULIA, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival in 2023 where it won the Freedom Award in Un Certain Regard. He also recently produced Abdelwahab Shawky's short film THE LAST MIRACLE.