Jimmy Keyrouz

Jimmy Keyrouz is a Lebanese filmmaker. His film Broken Keys made the official selection at the Cannes Festival and was selected as the Lebanese candidate for the 93rd Academy Awards. 
Keyrouz additionally won the Gold Medal at the Student Academy Awards, the BAFTA Student Film Awards, and the Directors Guild of America Student Film Award for his short film Nocturne in Black.
== Education ==
Keyrouz attended high school at Collège Notre-Dame de Jamhour. He then earned his Bachelor's Degree in filmmaking in 2009 at the Saint Joseph University in Beirut before pursuing a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in film at Columbia University in the City of New York, where he began his career as a film writer and director.https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-keyrouz-b151ba69/
== Career ==
Keyrouz began his career in 2009 when he portrayed the role of Serge in Rue Huvelin. In 2010, Keyrouz directed music videos for up and coming artists. In 2014, after finishing his classes, Keyrouz worked as a teacher's assistant at Columbia University in the City of New York, elaborating on the writing and directing principles taught by his professors and grading the essays of fellow students. His thesis short film Nocturne in Black released in 2016 tackled the themes of music, war and repression in a Middle Eastern neighborhood where music has been banned. The film was met with considerable success, winning gold at a number of award festivals including the Student Academy Awards, the BAFTA Student Film Awards and Directors Guild of America Student Film Awards. It was short-listed in the 89th Academy Awards under the Live-Action Shorts category. 
Following a short stint as an editor of documentaries at the History Channel, Keyrouz sought out to direct and edit a documentary of his won. Shot across Senegal, Zimbabwe and the United States, the 2018 feature documentary titled The Holy Goats examines the adverse social effects of global warming on rural African populations. 
In 2020, Keyrouz released his first feature film Broken Keys, a feature adaptation of his earlier work Nocturme in Black. The film narrates the vicissitudes of a musician whose hometown is occupied by extremists who have banned music and other liberal aspects of life. The film featured a collection of notable Lebanese actors including Sara Abi Kanaan and Adel Karam, as well as a score composed by Academy Award winner Gabriel Yared, whose work on the English Patient earned him the Academy Award for Best Original Score in 1996. The film was met with critical acclaim locally and abroad. It made the official selection of the Cannes Festival before its cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also selected as Lebanon's official entry for the category of Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, but was rejected by the Academy Awards.https://variety.com/2021/film/awards/oscar-international-film-shortlist-middleast-1234892835/#! The film's screenplay was selected among 6 of over 1,000 submissions for The Black List 2019 Annual Feature Lab.
Keyrouz recently directed Rose Noir, a gangster action TV series set in the Middle East, which has garnered attention for its unique storytelling and setting.
== Filmography ==
* Nocturne in Black (2016)
* The Holy Goats (2018)
* Broken Keys (2020)
===Tv Series===
* Rose Noir
== Awards ==
* Student Academy Awards Gold Medal Winner (2017)https://www.shootonline.com/spw/medalists-unveiled-2016%C2%A0student-academy-awards
* Directors Guild of America Award (2017)
* Academy Award for Live Action Short Film
* Tellrude Film Festival Student Prints (2017)
* CUFF Faculty Selects (2017)
* NRB Marion Carter Green Award Winner (2017)
* IFP Independent Film Project Audience Award
* NRB Student Grant Winner (2017)/https://nationalboardofreview.org/student-film/nocturne-black-directed-jimmy-keyrouz/
* Cannes Film Festival Offical Selection (2020)
* Murex d’Or (2022) 
* Represented Lebanon at the Oscars (2021)
==Personal life==
Outside of filmmaking, Keyrouz is passionate about road biking, scuba diving, skiing, rock climbing, and playing the piano. He is also involved in environmental initiatives, actively participating in forest planting efforts.
Category:1987 births
Category:Lebanese filmmakers
Category:Lebanese film directors
Category:Lebanese screenwriters