Hany Abu-Assad is a Palestinian film director, writer and producer. Born in Nazareth 1961, he is one of the most eminent Arab directors of our time. He broke into filmmaking after working for several years as an flight engineer in The Netherlands. In 1994, he produced the feature film Curfew, directed by Rashid Masharawi. Since then, Abu-Assad has written, directed and produced several award winning films which include Nazareth 2000, Rana’s Wedding, Ford Transit, Paradise Now, The Courier, Omar and The Idol.

His film Paradise Now was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language film. His film, Omar was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film 2014 and won several awards. The awards include the Independent Spirit Award, Felix Award,Berlin Blue Angel Award, Amnesty International Film Prize, Golden Calf, and the Jury Prize in the competition of Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 2017, Abu-Assad directed The Mountain Between Us, starring Kate Winslet and Idris Elba, which opened the 39th edition of Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF). Huda’s Salon is his latest feature film.