Ayoub Qanir

Ayoub Qanir is an American film writer and director best known for his award winning film Artificio Conceal starring late renown actor David Bailie of the Pirates of the Caribbean (film series) and Game of Thrones's Simon Armstrong. His debut feature film, The World of Which We Dream Doesn't Exist, set in Mongolia, premiered at the 25th International Film Festival of Kerala where it was nominated to the Golden Crow Pheasant Award for best of film in Asia. 
== Early Life and Education ==
Qanir grew up in Miami, Florida, where he attended and graduated from the University of Miami with a double major in management and finance, in 2005 . Shortly after, he obtained an additional degree in graphic design and art direction. In 2007, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a degree in film direction and production at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. In 2015, he was one of the juries of the 32nd edition of The Miami International Film Festival.
== Career ==
In 2008, Ayoub produced and directed music videos and short documentaries for several indie rock bands. In 2009, he began his foray into fiction, writing a series of comic books in collaboration with Marvel artist Juan Doe. One of his graphic novels, Koyakatsi, was developed and produced into a proof-of-concept trailer.
In 2014, Ayoub wrote and directed Artificio Conceal which was set in London and starring renown late actor David Bailie and Games of Thrones's Simon Armstrong. The short was selected to over 50 film festivals worldwide including Cannes Film Festival's Short Film Corner, Edinburgh International Film Festival and Seattle International Film Festival. In 2015, he was made one of the juries at the 32nd edition of The Miami International Film Festival.
In November 2015, Qanir became a Knight of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite awarded by the King of Morocco, for his contribution as artist and filmmaker.
In 2017, Qanir went on to write and direct his first feature film, The World of Which We Dream Doesn't Exist set in Mongolia. The film was fully cast by non-actors and followed the journey of real-life shaman, Erdenesaikhan Purevdorj, from the Khuvsgul valley as he attempts to recover his grandson's soul from the spirit world . The film had its world premiere in India where it was nominated for The Golden Crow Pheasant Award for Best film at the Kerala Film Festival. The US Premiere took place at the New Orleans Film Festival. The film featured surreal footage, depicting the spiritual world, from acclaimed macro-paint artist, Thomas Blanchard, who later used the same technique to design the international campaign for the release of Apple 's iPhone X.
His second feature film, Sea of Light, which he wrote and directed in 2018, using the same non-actor casting technique from his first feature, revolved around the mystical journeys of a real-life priest, a fisherman and a quantum physicist. The film which was set and filmed in The Westfjords in Iceland won several awards in Argentina, the United Kingdom and the US.
In 2019, Ayoub wrote and directed his third feature, Darkness of Otherwhere set in Tokyo, Japan, and filmed in black and white in the gritty city of Kabukicho. The film starred, Japanese sensation, Mika Hijii from the Ninja franchise films and renown theater actor Keisuke Ishida. Darkness of Otherwhere went on to win best Experimental Film at the Venice Film Week, the Toronto Arthouse Film Festival and the Amsterdam Independent Film Festival. The film also garnered a lot of buzz at the New York Cinematography Awards and is considered Ayoub's most successful feature to date.
In May 2020, it was announced that Qanir was developing his fourth feature film set in Plyos, Russia.
==Filmography==
===Film===
Year	Title 	Director	Writer	Producer	Editor
2014	Koyakatsi 	 	 	 	
2014	Artificio Conceal 	 	 	 	
2017	The World of Which We Dream Doesn't Exist	 	 	 	
2018	Sea of Light 	 	 	 	
2020	Darkness of Othewhere 	 	 	 	
TBA 	Daria 	 	 	 	
Short Films
Year	Title 	Director	Writer	Producer	Editor
2007	A Few Hours In 	 	 	 	
2010	Human After All	 	 	 	
2011	Room 237 	 	 	 	
2012	Moonwalker 	 	 	 	
===Documentaries===
Year	Title 	Director	Writer	Producer
2008	New Orleans 	 	 	
2010	Live at Little Radio	 	 	
===Music Videos===
Year	Title 	Director	Writer	Producer
2008	Lost in Space 	 	 	
2009	Fairytales 	 	 	
2010	Live at The Roxy	 	 	
==Awards==
As of 2020, Qanir's films have garnered over 100 awards and nominations worldwide. His short film, Artificio Conceal, was selected to over 50 film festivals, including Cannes Film Festival, Edinburgh Film Festival, New York Short Film Festival and Maryland Film Festival. The film won Best Short and Best Cinematography at Fort Myers Film Festival and Seattle International Film Festival respectively.
In 2017, his debut feature, The World of which We Dream doesn't Exist, picked up over 30 noms, including a Best Film nomination at the Kerala Film Festival, in India, the New Orleans Film Festival, Cardiff Film Festival, and Dublin Film Festival. The film, set in Mongolia, took home Best Production Design at the Ischia Film Festival, in Italy, as well as Best Film at the California Film Awards.
His third feature film, set in Tokyo, Japan, Darkness Of Otherwhere has won Best Experimental Film at the Venice Film Week, The Toronto Arthouse Film Festival and the Ghent Independent Film Festival, in Belgium. The film has additionally been nominated to Best Film at The Amsterdam Independent Film Festival and Brussels Independent Film Festival. The Japanese film was additionally nominated for Best Cinematography at the New York Cinematography Awards.
In November 2015, Qanir became a Knight of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite awarded by the King of Morocco, for his contribution as artist and filmmaker.
==Graphic novels==
Ayoub begun his foray into fiction developing several comic books and graphic novels with notable illustrators and comic artists such as Marvel 's Juan Doe, Patryk Hardziej, Cristiano Siqueira or even acclaimed digital illustrator Kilian Eng who later went on to design the official graphic campaign to the 4th season of Game of Thrones and Tom Cruise's Oblivion.
Notable Works
Year	Title 	Creator	Writer	Producer	Illustrator
2008	Daniel Dume 	 	 	 	Cristiano Siqueira
2009	Mechanism 	 	 	 	Juan Doe
2010	Artemesia 	 	 	 	
2011	Duke Rising 	 	 	 	Patrick Hardziej
2011	Kunin 	 	 	 	Artem Solop
2012	Fennec Knows Best	 	 	 	Taz
2012	Koyakatsi 	 	 	 	Kilian Eng
2015	Green March 	 	 	 	Juan Doe & Pius Bak
2016	Space 	 	 	 	Antoine Collignon
==Concept Design==
Qanir has additionally worked on several concept and design projects for Puma, Absolut and Adidas.
One of his most notable concepts, the HRS-1 (Heightened Reality Stimuli-1), is a silicon-based patch device which sit on the user's cheek and serves as an augmented reality projector.
==Essays==
In February 2014, Qanir published one of his essays We Are Meaning. A few months later and after a successful run, artist Patrick Hardziej and Qanir decided to collaborate and turn the essay into a graphic campaign with the same name. The campaign received over 250,000 views worldwide.
==References==
==External links==
* Ayoub Qanir on imdb
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* Ayoub Qanir on Vimeo
* Ayoub Qanir on Behance
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Category:1983 births
Category:American graphic novelists
Category:American people of Moroccan descent
Category:American film directors
Category:University of Miami alumni
Category:American writers