Biography

Ray Shehadeh is a Syrian-American director, writer, and producer based in Los Angeles, originally from Minnesota. She is in her final year of the MFA program in Film & Television Production at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where she was awarded the prestigious USC Annenberg Graduate Fellowship. Ray is currently finishing her directing thesis film and proof of concept, Damascene Yasmine, which follows a Syrian refugee violinist torn between caring for her ailing mother and pursuing her musical dreams. She is also developing Damascene Yasmine into a feature-length film as part of her producing thesis.

Ray's previous short films, All the Love In-Between and Step by Step, which she wrote and directed, have screened at multiple festivals, including the World Culture Film Festival and The International Film and Television Festival SIMFEST. She produced Memoirs Unseen, a short film exploring the memories of visually impaired artists in collaboration with The Blind Dance Company, as well as Between the Buckets and Finding Solace. Her experience also includes roles as Director of Photography, Associate Producer, and 1st Assistant Director on short films and LED Volume wall projects. Ray was also a production designer for the advanced USC production The Things I Leave Behind.

Ray's work has received accolades, including a Best Experimental Film Award and Official Selections at the Intercollegiate Film Festival, Twin Cities Film Festival, and Lift-Off Global Network First-time Filmmaker Sessions. She was also a Quarter-Finalist for Best Super Short Film at the Student World Impact Film Festival.

Ray holds dual undergraduate degrees in Cinema and Media Culture and Journalism from the University of Minnesota. She has a strong professional background in videography, photography, and multimedia storytelling. As a Videographer and Photographer Intern at the Star Tribune, her work appeared in both print and digital platforms. She also worked as a Staff Videographer at the Minnesota Daily and Marketing Assistant at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts.

Her writing and film photography have been featured in the Walker Art Center's Mn Artists (2022), including a piece on the resurgence of analog film. She was officially selected and won Honorable Mention in the 2022 and 2023 International Photography Awards. For over seven years, Ray shared her passion for her heritage by teaching first-graders Arabic at the non-profit Alibdaa Weekend School.

Ray's work focuses on reframing the immigrant experience, amplifying the voices of marginalized communities, and exploring themes of identity, family, and culture.
- IMDb mini biography by: Ray Shehadeh