Amal Al-Agroobi

Amal Al-Agroobi is an Emirati documentary filmmaker, director, producer and writer. Her career as a director began in 2012. Her first short documentary Half Emirati premiered at Dubai Film Festival. Half Emirati became the most watched film in the festival. She was adjudged the best new director in UAE by Women in Film and Television.[1] By professional training she is a neuroscientist.[2] She is also founder and owner of the production company ALAGROOBI Films. She has raised money for most of her films through crowdfunding.[3]

Amal Al-Agroobi
NationalityEmirati
OccupationDocumentary filmmaker
Years active2012–present
Known forProducer at ALAGROOBI Films
Notable work
A Brain that Sings,
Half Emirati

Early life

Amal Al-Agroobi grew up around Europe, completing her BSc in Biomedical Sciences from University of Durham and MSc in Neurosciences from University College London.[4]

While in London, she obtained a certificate in short film production, certificate in acting for film and continued gaining experience in TVC's and feature films.[5]

Career

Amal Al-Agroobi began her cinema career as a director. Her directorial debut was Half Emirati, a short film that was released in 2012. The film was produced by her own production company Alagroobi films UAE. Half Emirati, which is a documentary was screened in both the Dubai International Film Festival and the Gulf Film Festival.[6]

Her next critically acclaimed project was The Brain That Sings. The movie received Emirates NBD People's Choice Award in December 2013 at the Dubai International Film Festival. She completed a goodwill documentary for The PCRF charity Climb of Hope, and it was released in 2015.[7]

She has also acted in an episode of The Misfits. Al-Agroobi's social and humanitarian work caused her to work on a TV-web series titled "Proud to be a Sharjonian", showing off her hometown of Sharjah.[8]

Her first fictional narrative short movie will be released in 2016 titled "Under the Hat". The film was the winner of Doha Film Institute grant for the category short movies.[9][10][11]

In 2014, her life story was published in a book titled "Those Who inspire" showcasing 60 inspiring Emiratis and again in 2015 in a coffee-table book labeled "Emirati Woman Achievers" where she was one of the 21 people who shared their story of inspiration in the middle east.[12][13]

Awards
YearAwards
2013Digital Studio Awards for Best Up and Coming Filmmaker of the Year[14]
2014Digital Studio Awards Best Production (special commendation) for The Brain That Sings[15]
2014The People's Choice Award at the Dubai International Film Festival[16][17]
2014Women in Film and Television honored as Best New Director[18]

References
  1. "AMAL AL-AGROOBI". Dubai Film Festival. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  2. Roath, Nina. "The Brain That Sings Filmmaker Amal Al-Agroobi". Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  3. "'The Brain That Sings' Film Autism Awareness Campaign". Zoomaal. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  4. Hamdan, Sara. "An Internet Angel for a Documentary". New York Times. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  5. "Amal Al-Agroobi: A Talented Filmmaker with a Humanitarian and Social Cause". khaleejesque. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  6. Kantaria, Annabel. "What does it feel like to be half-Emirati?". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  7. "The Brain That Sings by Amal Al Agroobi and Autism Awareness Campaign". TheCulturist.com. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  8. Ahmed, Afshan. "Filmmaker Amal Al Agroobi promotes Sharjah through her webisodes". The National. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  9. Melanie Goodfellow. "Al-Agroobi set to make fiction debut". ScreenDaily.com. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  10. Vivarelli, Nick. "Doha Film Institute Announces Its New Round of Grants Winners". Variety.com. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  11. "Amal Al Agroobi". litfest-archives. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  12. "Emirati Women Achievers book unveiled". TradeArabia. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  13. "Coffee-table book highlights 21 female Emirati achievers". TheNational. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  14. Newbould, Chris. "Digital Studio Awards". Digital Productions. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  15. "PREVIOUS WINNERS". ITP.com. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  16. "THE BRAIN THAT SINGS WINS 'PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD'". Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  17. Staff Report. "Cinema Emirati celebrates best of UAE filmmaking". GulfNews. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  18. "Emirati Documentary 'The Brain That Sings' wins 'Best Film' in the Emirates NBD People's Choice Award category at DIFF". Two Four 54. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
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