Sally El Hosaini facts for kids

Sally El-Hosaini is a talented film director and writer from Wales and Egypt. She has been nominated for a BAFTA award, which is a very important award for films and TV shows.

About Sally El-Hosaini

Sally El-Hosaini was born in Swansea, Wales. Her parents were from Egypt and Wales, and she grew up in Cairo, Egypt.

Sally's Education and Early Work

She went to high school at Atlantic College in Wales. Later, she studied Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies at Durham University. Before she started making films, Sally taught English in Sana'a, Yemen. She also worked for Amnesty International, an organization that helps protect human rights around the world. Sally has lived in Hackney, London, for a long time.

Sally's Film Career

Sally El-Hosaini started her career by working with a theater director named John Sichel. She then worked on documentaries about the Middle East. After that, she moved into making independent feature films, where she helped coordinate productions for many years. She felt that making documentaries for British TV was too "formulaic," meaning it followed too many rules. She found she could tell more honest stories in fiction films.

Working on House of Saddam

Sally was a script editor and special researcher for the mini-series House of Saddam. This show won a BAFTA and an Emmy Award. She spent two and a half years researching for the series, which also won a Grierson Award for best factual drama.

Early Short Films and Recognition

In 2009, Sally's short film Henna Night was shown at the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. It was also part of competitions at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Raindance Film Festival. Because of her promising work, Screen International magazine named Sally one of the UK Stars of Tomorrow in 2009. She also worked on her film My Brother the Devil at the Sundance Film Festival Directors and Screenwriters Labs in 2009.

Success with My Brother the Devil

Her first full-length movie, My Brother the Devil, won many awards around the world. These awards included honors at the 2013 Evening Standard Film Awards, the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival, and the 2012 BFI London Film Festival Awards. The film starred Fady Elsayed, James Krishna Floyd, and Saïd Taghmaoui.

My Brother the Devil was shown in cinemas in the US in May 2013 and in the UK in November 2012. It was also released in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. The film was screened at over 40 film festivals and received 12 awards, 17 nominations, and an honorable mention.

For her work as the writer and director of My Brother the Devil, Sally won several awards. She received the Most Promising Newcomer Award at the 2013 Evening Standard Film Awards. She also won Best Screenplay at the 2013 Writer's Guild of Great Britain Awards and the Best Newcomer Award at the 2012 BFI London Film Festival. In 2012, she won the UK New Talent Award at the British Women in Film and Television Awards. She was also nominated for other important awards, like the Douglas Hickox award for Best Debut Film at the British Independent Film Awards.

Directing Babylon and The Swimmers

In 2014, famous director Danny Boyle chose Sally to direct Babylon. This was a TV series he created for Channel 4 and SundanceTV. Magazines like The Guardian and Variety have featured Sally, with Variety calling her a "Brit to Watch" in 2014.

Sally's next big movie, The Swimmers, tells the true and powerful story of Syrian refugee sisters Yusra Mardini and Sara Mardini. The film was the opening movie at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and the Zurich Film Festival. It was also shown as a special presentation at the 2022 BFI London Film Festival. The movie was released in cinemas and on Netflix around the world in November 2022. It received great reviews. In its first week on Netflix, starting November 23, 2022, it was a huge success, reaching number one in 15 countries and the top 10 in 85 countries. In its second week, it became even more popular, climbing to number two globally on the platform. The film was nominated for a 2022 BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film. Sally won the TIFF Emerging Talent Award at the 2022 TIFF Tribute Awards and the BAFTA Cymru award for Best Director at the 2023 BAFTA Cymru Awards.

Sally El-Hosaini's Filmography

Short Films

Feature Films

Television Work

Awards and Nominations

• Won BAFTA Cymru for Best Director in 2023 for The Swimmers.
• Nominated for BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film in 2022 for The Swimmers.
• Won TIFF Emerging Talent Award in 2022 for The Swimmers at the Toronto International Film Festival.
• Won Best European Film (Europa Cinemas Label Award) in 2012 for My Brother the Devil at the Berlinale.
• Won Best Newcomer in 2012 for My Brother the Devil at the BFI London Film Festival.
• Won Most Promising Newcomer in 2013 for My Brother the Devil at the Evening Standard Film Awards.
• Won Best Screenplay in 2013 for My Brother the Devil at the Writer's Guild of Great Britain Awards.
• Won UK New Talent Award in 2012 at the British Women in Film and Television Awards.
• Won Grand Jury Award in 2012 for My Brother the Devil at LA Outfest.
• Won BAFTA Cymru in 2008 for her short film "The Fifth Bowl".
• Received an Honourable Mention for 'Outstanding First Feature Award' in 2012 for My Brother the Devil at the Frameline Film Festival.
• Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in 2012 for My Brother the Devil at the Sundance Film Festival.
• Nominated for the Douglas Hickox award for Best Debut Film in 2012 for My Brother the Devil at the British Independent Film Awards.
• Nominated for the Sutherland Trophy (Best First Film) in 2012 for My Brother the Devil at the BFI London Film Festival.

See also

In Spanish: Sally El Hosaini para niños