Basil Khalil(I)

Academy Award & Palme d'Or nominated writer and director Basil Khalil was born and raised in Nazareth, to a Palestinian father and British-Irish mother. His debut feature A Gaza Weekend (2022) premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, winning the FIPRESCI prize. Previous to that he co-wrote and directed the short film Ave Maria (2015) that premiered in the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival and went on to receive an Oscar nomination. Basil studied for an MA script development at Screen Academy Scotland, in Edinburgh, then worked on a number of television productions in London. In 2011 Basil was featured by Screen International Magazine as one of "top 10 Arab filmmakers to watch".