Merhaba Lotfy

Egyptian filmmaker born in 1973, Hala studied economies and political science and graduated from Cairo University in 1995. She studied filmmaking in Cairo Film Institute and graduated with an honor degree in 1999. She made three documentaries independently from 2001 to 2004. She worked with Aljazeera documentary channel making seven TV documentaries in a series called “Arabs of Latin America” from 2005 to 2006. In 2007 she began producing her long feature debut "Coming Forth by Day" totally independently. The project was suspended for sometime and was resumed after the revolution. In 2010, with the help of the partners of "Coming Forth by Day," Hala composed “Hassala Films” which is an independent company aiming to support young artists to achieve their dream projects. In July 2011, Hala received the prestigious Katrin Cartlidge Foundation Award, given to a new cinematic voice reflecting integrity of spirit in independent film.