Ayoub Qanir

Ayoub Qanir
Born1983
Casablanca, Morocco
OccupationFilmmaker
WebsiteIMDb

Ayoub Qanir is an American filmmaker and writer, known for his films Artificio Conceal and The World of Which We Dream Doesn't Exist. He is also a graphic novelist. In 2015, he was knighted by the King of Morocco.

Early life and education

Qanir was born in 1983 in Casablanca, Morocco.[1] He grew up in Madrid, Spain where as a kid he would shoot short films with his friends in his parent's backyard using a Handycam. He later moved to the United States where he graduated from the University of Miami with a double major in management and finance.[2] He also studied nanotechnology at Harvard and film direction at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.[3]

Career

Qanir began his career directing and producing music videos and short documentaries. In 2009, he began writing fiction by releasing a series of comic books in collaboration with Juan Doe.[4] Some of Qanir's earlier work includes films such as Human After All and Koyakatsi.[5]

His first film to gain traction was Artificio Conceal, a 2014 film with David Bailie.[6][1] He presented it at the Festival International de Films de Montréal where he also moderated a discussion on imagination as a means of survival.[1] It played at over 50 film festivals,[4] including being shortlisted at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, and won numerous awards including "Best Short Film" at the 2015 Bengaluru International Short Film Festival.[7] In November 2015, Qanir became a Knight of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite awarded by the King of Morocco.[8][4]

Qanir wrote, directed, and produced the 2017 film The World of Which We Dream Doesn't Exist which was shown at the 22nd International Film Festival of Kerala.[9] It won numerous awards including "Best Production Design" at the Ischia Film Festival and "Best Experimental Film" at the American Filmatic Arts Awards.[10] The following year he released the feature film Sea of Light which was filmed in the Westfjords in Iceland.[4] In 2020, Qanir released Darkness of Otherwhere, a film he shot in Japan. It won the "Best Experimental Film Award" at the 2020 Arthouse Film Festival.[11]

Filmography

Year Title Director Writer Producer Ref.
2012 Human After All Yes No No [9]
Moonwalker Yes No No
Room 237 Yes Yes Yes
2014 Koyakatsi Yes Yes No [2]
Artificio Conceal Yes Yes Yes [12]
2017 The World of Which We Dream Doesn't Exist Yes Yes Yes [9]
2018 Sea of Light Yes Yes Yes
2020 Darkness of Otherwhere Yes Yes Yes [13]
2024 Daria Yes Yes No [14]
2025 Where God Lives Yes Yes Yes

Graphic novels

  • 2014, Artificio Conceal[5]
  • 2015, The Green March[15]
  • 2017, The First Moroccan in Space[16]
  • 2024, Lions of the Atlas[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Cinéma : double consécration pour Ayoub Qanir". Les Eco (in French). September 20, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Efap, Serge (July 4, 2013). "Ayoub Qanir Keeps It Futuristic In 'Koyakatsi'". Elite Daily.
  3. ^ Haro, Martin. "The Next Big Thing". Miami Living.
  4. ^ a b c d "Les Enfants de Nos Terres". Famille Actuelle (in French). November 9, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Sandwell, Ian (June 10, 2014). "Simon Armstrong joins Artificio Conceal". Screen Daily.
  6. ^ Sandwell, Ian (May 14, 2014). "David Bailie joins Artificio Conceal". Screen Daily.
  7. ^ Doe, Juan (May 19, 2015). "Artificio Conceal – Cannes 2015 Highlight". Showbizcafe.
  8. ^ "Moroccan and foreign figures decorated by Mohammed VI on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Green March". Ritajepress (in Arabic).
  9. ^ a b c "Telling It Right". Deccan Chronicle. December 9, 2017.
  10. ^ "Film of the Week - Le Monde Dont on Reve N'Existe Pas". Arab Media.
  11. ^ "TAFF announces 2020 award winners". Toronto Arthouse Film Festival.
  12. ^ Azami, Bouthaina. "Ayoub Qanir: nouveau court métrage, nouveau joyau". le 360 (in French).
  13. ^ "Darkness of Otherwhere". La Vanguardia (in Spanish).
  14. ^ "Ayoub Qanir : "Daria" une histoire humaine sur fond de conflit tchétchène". Les Eco (in French). February 25, 2022.
  15. ^ Alaoui, Kenza. "Ayoub Qanir raconte la Marche verte en bande dessinée". Maroc Hebdo (in French).
  16. ^ "Graphic Novel Brings Moroccans to Space". Morocco World News. March 23, 2017.
  17. ^ El Amri, Amine. "Book Club Le Matin avec les auteurs de la BD Les Lions de l'Atlas – Dir Niya". Le Matin (in French).
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