Josef Fares facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Josef Fares
Fares in June 2018
Born	(1977-09-19) 19 September 1977 (age 46) Beirut, Lebanon
Nationality	Swedish
Occupation	Film director, screenwriter, actor, video game designer
Years active	1996–present
Relatives	Fares Fares (brother)

Josef Fares (born 19 September 1977) is a Swedish-Lebanese film director and video game designer of Assyrian descent. His brother is the actor Fares Fares, who has appeared in many of his films. He is the founder of Hazelight Studios.

Biography

Fares in 2013

Josef Fares moved to Sweden when he was 10 years old, fleeing the Lebanese Civil War with his family. Variety declared him one of ten upcoming directors to watch in 2006. The same year he won the Nordic Council Film Prize for his film Zozo. In 2013, he directed his first video game, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. The game was well received by critics. Its focus is on the interaction between two brothers and on their journey to save their father. He then formed his development company named Hazelight Studios, and partnered with publisher Electronic Arts for his next video game, A Way Out, which was released 23 March 2018.

..... Because of his speech, he has received international praise among fans and his speech has created a new Internet meme involving mass vandalism of relevant Wikipedia pages, usually to reference the 2003 movie The Room, as many people compared him to the movie's director, Tommy Wiseau. .....

Industry perspective

In an interview to The Washington Post following It Takes Two's win at The Game Awards 2021, Fares expressed his perspective on several topics in the game industry. He said he would "rather get shot in the knee" than include NFTs in future games, he also put forward that adjusting game design to make the player pay is wrong, and stated "For me, gaming is art". ..... That’s what’s happening", as well as that unions help "but that’s just one of the things. I don’t think it solves everything. Education and knowledge, I think that’s most important."

Filmography

Film

• Jalla! Jalla! (2000)
• Kopps (2003)
• Zozo (2005)
• Leo (2007)
• Balls (2010)

Video games