Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, a renowned filmmaker, was awarded the Étoile d'Or at the 2015 Marrakech International Film Festival, with jury president Francis Ford Coppola presenting the honor.
In addition to this prestigious recognition, Bou Chaaya was also named Best New Director at the 2016 Beijing International Film Festival, and his work has received numerous international accolades for his film "Very Big Shot," which served as Lebanon's official submission for Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards.
Born in 1989, Bou Chaaya earned his Master's degree in Filmmaking with high distinction from the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts in 2012.
Bou Chaaya began his career in 2008 with a music video dedicated to Lebanese army martyrs, and has since written, directed, and edited eight short films, two of which won awards at prominent international film festivals. He has also collaborated with notable sound artists, including Soundwalk, on projects such as "Ulysses Syndrome" (Naples, 2010) and "Eternal Hell" (Abu Dhabi, 2011).
Furthermore, Bou Chaaya has directed a 12-episode television show and written 10 short documentaries profiling Arab immigrants in Argentina.
As Chief Content Creator at Kabreet Productions SARL, Bou Chaaya has also acted as producer and script consultant on the company's second feature, "TV Society," expected to be released in 2019. Additionally, he is the director and executive producer on "JINN," the first Netflix Arabic original series, and script consultant on a new MBC TV series currently in development.
