Leila Mokhtar

Directing

Born September 4, 2002 · Egypt

I am a filmmaker who began my journey in media as a graphic designer and illustrator at age 17. This early start sparked a deep passion for visual storytelling, leading me to study filmmaking at BUC within the Graphics Department. During my studies, I explored various narrative mediums. My first short film was a "one-man crew" stop-motion project. Following that, I transitioned into video editing and motion graphics, eventually completing an internship where I wrote, directed, and edited my second short a live-action film that screened at the 2023 Lift-Off Global Network in London. In my senior year, while working as a part-time video editor, I produced my graduation project: a 2D animated short. This film traveled extensively, screening at festivals like Filmmaker session Volume 3, Lifanima, Collaborative future, Cairo Animation forum and Arucad Cinematic seeds festival. It was also a Semi-Finalist at the New England Animation Festival and a Quarter-Finalist at the International Istanbul Women’s Film Festival. After graduating, I joined the Les Ateliers de Dahshouria workshop for young filmmakers, where I directed and wrote a hybrid short film blending live-action and animation. Currently, I am a Media QC Operator at Pixelogic, a role that has sharpened my technical eye for video, audio, and subtitle standards across international cinema. I am now participating in a creative documentary workshop with the "Between Women Filmmakers Caravan," where I am developing my first short documentary and my fifth short film overall.