Writer and director Hanadi Elyan is a Jordanian Palestinian filmmaker whose work focuses on the social issues facing marginalized communities from a female perspective.
Elyan started her film career in Jordan, then she moved to Dubai and established Reel Arab Productions. Later, she moved to Los Angeles after being selected for a full-ride scholarship and completed her MFA in Film Production and Directing from UCLA.
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Hanadi currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Narrative Film Directing at Emerson College.
So far, she’s won numerous awards for her work, including the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Award, Delia Salvi Memorial Award, Special Jury Award at the Tangiers Film Festival for MARIAM'S CHANCE, George Burns and Gracie Allen Scholarship Fellowship in Comedy, and UCLA Directors’ Spotlight Award.