Ibrahim El-Batout
- Writer
- Director
- Cinematographer
Ibrahim El-Batout, who was born on the 20th of September, 1963 in
Portsaid, is a graduate of the American University in Cairo in 1985,
majoring in Physics. El Batout's infatuation with the camera started in
the Video Cairo Production House, an agency that provides facilities
for foreign TV-stations. There, he worked as a sound engineer. Shortly
after, El Batout began to experiment with filmmaking and learned about
the skills required of cameramen, editors and directors. Later, he
worked for a year at a British television station called TV-Am, located
in Cyprus. Since then, he has worked as a director, producer and
cameraman, capturing stories mainly about human loss, suffering, and
displacement since 1987, and has also directed numerous documentaries
for international TV channels, such as ZDF (Germany), TBS (Japan) and
ARTE (France).
El Batout documentary work has received numerous international awards, such as : the Axel Springer Award in Germany (1994 and 2000) and the Direct Marketing Association's coveted ECHO award (1996).
Towards the beginning of 2004, El Batout stepped into the world of fiction to make the long feature film 'Ithaki' (2005). His second feature film 'Ein Shams' (Eye of the Sun) (2008) has won the Golden Bull, the top prize at the 54th Taormina Film Festival, 2008.
In 2010, El Batout's third feature film Hawi won the best Arab Film Award at the 2nd Doha Tribeca Film Festival, and will have its international premiere at the 40th International Film Festival Rotterdam January/February 2011.
El Batout documentary work has received numerous international awards, such as : the Axel Springer Award in Germany (1994 and 2000) and the Direct Marketing Association's coveted ECHO award (1996).
Towards the beginning of 2004, El Batout stepped into the world of fiction to make the long feature film 'Ithaki' (2005). His second feature film 'Ein Shams' (Eye of the Sun) (2008) has won the Golden Bull, the top prize at the 54th Taormina Film Festival, 2008.
In 2010, El Batout's third feature film Hawi won the best Arab Film Award at the 2nd Doha Tribeca Film Festival, and will have its international premiere at the 40th International Film Festival Rotterdam January/February 2011.
