Hala Lotfy is an Egyptian filmmaker, who studied Economies and Political Science and graduated from Cairo University in 1995. Then she studied filmmaking in Cairo Film Institute and graduated with an Honor Degree in 1999. She worked as an Assistant Director in the commercial field for two years before deciding it is not the place she belongs to. She made three documentaries independently from 2001 to 2004. She worked with Aljazeera documentary channel making seven TV documentaries in a series called Arabs of Latin America from 2005 to 2006. In 2010, Hala established Hassala Films which is an independent company aiming to support young artists to achieve their dream projects by offering them free cameras and edit suits and fund raising consultations to help them keep their independence as much as they can. In July 2011, Hala received the prestigious Katrin Cartlidge Foundation Award, given to a new cinematic voice reflecting integrity of spirit in independent film.