Bassel Ghandour graduated from the University of Southern California with a BA in Cinematic Arts. After working as a production assistant on various films such The Hurt Locker (2008), which won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and Captain Abu Raed (2008), Bassel wrote and produced Theeb (2014), which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards. The film also won Best British Newcomer and was nominated for Best Film Not In The English Language at the BAFTAs that same year. Prior, Theeb had won over a dozen awards at various film festivals, including the Orizzonti competition’s Best Director at the 71st Venice Film Festival. Bassel also established Bay Al Shawareb, a production company in Amman, Jordan, which provides various services for the Film and TV industry in Jordan.
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and emerging. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.
