Bader Ben Hirsi

London born British-Yemeni director Bader Ben Hirsi wrote and directed his first play at the age of 11. He went on to pursue a career as a theatre playwright and director with numerous successes at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and at London Fringe theatres where press compared him to Edgar Allan Poe and Jean-Paul Sartre, leading What's On (London) to state he is a writer and director 'too bleak and too brilliant to be missed'. The Scotsman added "alert to every nuance of psychological tension, Bader Ben Hirsi excels as a director". After studying for an MA in Drama Production at Goldsmiths, University of London, Bader turned his attention to projects rediscovering the Arab world for western audiences with his first feature documentary, the award-winning The English Sheikh & The Yemeni Gentleman generating great international appeal. Soon after, he went on to make history by writing and directing Yemen's first-ever feature film A New Day in Old Sana'a, which again won an accolade of awards and global recognition. Other projects followed, including ITN/C4's successful The Hajj: The Greatest Trip on Earth and 03's insightful 9/11 Through Saudi Eyes. In the United Arab Emirates, Bader worked with Pyramedia where he produced the first series of Abu Dhabi's ground-breaking Millions' Poet, one of the most successful shows in Arab television history. Following this he directed and produced The Arabian Oryx - Freed Spirit of The Desert, and the feature documentary Changing Sands. Always with a keen eye for good story-telling, he went on to co-produced the multi award-winning Iraqi film Son of Babylon. Bader is currently working on the feature film The Garden of Aden.