Karim Kassem(II)

Born and raised in Beirut, Karim is an award winning filmmaker mainly working between New York and Lebanon on films, music videos and commercials. Karim's artistic exploration first began in music, spinning techno for four years until his interest in photography was awakened by a college professor who invited him on a trip to Indonesia. Since moving to New York in 2012, he has independently studied metaphysics and completed his first feature "Only the Winds" (2020) which was selected for the 50th IFFR and nominated for the Sesterce d'or Canton de Vaud at Visions Du Reel & the Tanit d'Or at Carthage. Most recently, he landed in Beirut only a day before and survived the massive explosion that destroyed much of the city. This last experience inspired his second feature film "Octopus" (2021), which won best film at IDFA 2021 and a jury special mention award at ZagrebDox 2022. It was supported by the Doha Film Institute and the Red Sea Fund, screened at True/False followed by nominations for best cinematography at the IDA Awards and for best film at Torino Film Festival. His third feature film titled "Thiiird" (2022) closes a trilogy and was supported by AFAC, Doha Film Institute, Red Sea Fund and was selected for the WIP market at New Nordic Films. "Thiiird" premiered at IFFR 2023 in the Tiger Competition and won best film at Beldocs 2023. It was then nominated for the Jean-Loup Passek award and selected to show at the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale. His fourth feature "Moondove" (2024) is in post-production and was selected for the VdR Rough Cut Lab, Aflamuna Connection, and was supported by the IDFA Bertha Fund, AFAC, Doha Film Institute & Red Sea Fund.