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Feras Fayyad was born on September 20th in a small village 60 km from Aleppo. This village was part of the Kingdom of Ebla, where cuneiform was discovered. The village had a unique language for the inhabitants of that region, in addition to a theater and musical pieces dating back to the third millennium BC. Fayyad grew up between his small village, surrounded by this life full of history and fantasy, and Aleppo and Damascus. Fayyad was raised by the women of his extended family.
Feras Fayyad is the first Syrian director to be nominated for the Academy Award and by the Directors Guild of America. Fayyad is a two-time Oscar nominee and Emmy award-winning filmmaker. Fayyad is best known for his film, LAST MEN IN ALEPPO, which made him the first Syrian director to be nominated for an Academy award, and THE CAVE, which earned him his second nomination for the 2020 academy award. He is also a two-time winner of the Danish Academy Award (the Danish Oscar) and the first non-Danish director to receive the prestigious Director talented award for his work in THE CAVE. Fayyad was named one of GOOD Magazine's 100 creative global change-makers of 2014. G. Allen Johnson of San Francisco Chronicle wrote that "Fayyad is a humanitarian, and his approach in "The Cave" demonstrates that."
His last documentary film, THE CAVE, described by Variety as MIRACULOUS, follows managing physician Dr. Amani Ballour and her colleagues as they contend with daily bombardments, chronic supply shortages and the ever-present threat of chemical attacks. The Cave paints a stirring portrait of courage, resilience and female solidarity. Premiering at the 2019 TIFF, The Cave won People's Choice Award, best writing from the International Documentary Association, and Producing Award from Cinema Eyes Honer, alongside 16 other awards around the world. THE CAVE was also nominated for 5 Critics Choice Awards, Directors Guild of America, Producer Guild of America, and nominated for 2020 Academy Award. THE CAVE was distributed worldwide by National Geographic.
LAST MEN IN ALEPPO, described by THE GUARDIAN as a masterpiece, follows members of the volunteer group, White Helmets, who offers aid to the wounded during the Syrian Civil War. LAST MEN IN ALEPPO was nominated for the 2018 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and won an Emmy Award, making Fayyad the first Syrian director to be nominated for an Academy Award. The film premiered in the World Documentary Competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, where Fayyad won The Grand Jury prize. LAST MEN IN ALEPPO was also awarded the Courage Under Fire Award from International Documentary Association and the Peabody Award. The film was released theatrically nationwide by The Grasshopper and had its broadcast premiere on POV/PBS in January 2017.
Previously, Fayyad produced, co-wrote and edited the award-winning short ONE DAY IN ALEPPO with paint a several human story in 24 min about the orderly people of Aleppo who try to live their ordinary life. Fayyad directed a feature-length documentary MY ESCAPE - the film focuses on the largest refugee crisis since World War II, through the eyes of two boys out of the many thousands of children who are fleeing alone. The film had its broadcast premiere on BBC in 2015
