Mohanad Hayal

Mohanad Hayal was born in 1985 in Iraq. After graduating from Baghdad University's Faculty of Fine Arts in cinema, he gained considerable experience working as assistant director on many Arabic feature films. He has made a number of short and documentary films. His first Feature film won the best film from Busan film festival and best film and actor from Cairo film festival, his last short film 'Happy Birthday' was selected for the 2013 Berlin International Film Festival and received the Rising Star Award at the 2013 Rhode International Film Festival. Hayal is a seasoned journalist and is currently a freelance war journalist, documenting battles between the Iraqi Army and ISIS.