Meshal Al-Jaser
Directing
Biography
Meshal Al Jaser was born and raised in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He became interested in film at a very young age. Since Saudi Arabia didn’t have movie theaters at the time, he decided to make his own films. At 17 years old, Jaser was the main contributor to Folaim’s channel and was one of the first Saudis to direct short films for Telfaz 11’s YouTube channels. Together the channels have garnered around 870 million viewers, and 8.6 million subscribers. In 2016, Jaser directed “Is Sumiaty Going to Hell?” a short film that addresses the struggle Indonesian maids face in the Gulf. The film received final nomination in Oscar eligible festivals, such as LA Shorts Fest and NewFilmmakers Los Angeles. It was also a winner of the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards and was officially selected in many other festivals. His next short, “Under Concrete,” released in 2017, was the winner in the worldwide Qomrah competition. This year, Jaser directed a United Nations campaign for refugees. He was also one of 10 Saudi directors chosen by the Saudi government to represent the Saudi consul in events at Paramount Pictures, Ace Theater, and the Cannes Film Festival.
Known For
Khambalah: A word that has no meaning other than randomness, everything and nothing.
Khambalah
Folaim Ya gholaim - The Eccentric Cinema of Meshal Al Jaser
Folaim
Stranded amid Riyadh's desert dunes, Sarah, a local Saudi girl, escapes heartaches and the vengeance of a vigorous camel after discreetly sneaking out of her parent's home for a romantic date that landed her astray.
Naga
A child in Syria trapped under concrete after an explosion demolished her home.
Under Concrete
A seven-year-old child narrates the struggles of her nanny, Sumyati, who must navigate prejudice and cruel treatment from the family she works for.
Is Sumiyati Going to Hell?
A Saudi husband accompanies his wife in a dinner night with some of her old American friends, only for a very awkward and uncomfortable social meeting to occur.
Folaim - Companion dinner
A short film featuring a teenager raging after realizing that school is next week.
Folaim - School is Next Week
A Chubby kid experiences Eid for the first time of his life.
Folaim - Eid's Heart
A sarcastic mashup of several genres to deliver a simple incident between a group of guys.
Folaim - Cocktail
A guy who makes silly puns with his friends realizes that he's showing symptoms of a new pandemic.
Folaim - Moment of Silliness
A hectic short film that sarcastically mimics the repetitive scenarios of the Gulf state's annual TV dramas.
Folaim - Cheetah Wound
A group of outlaws decide to makeup for anything bad they do after they have fun doing it.
Folaim - Allolo
A thief encounters a guy on a wheelchair and has a change of heart.
Folaim | These with Public Needs
A girl asks for her parent's permission to go out with her friend.
Folaim - Can I Go Out?
A teenager spends the night before his math exam with his stereotypical math tutor.
Folaim - Math Night
A duel between two students on who has it tougher in his academic life.
Folaim - Hot Sauce
A guy with autism describes what it's like to be autistic.
Folaim - Maybe
A young director shares his drafted script with his friend only to be surprised that his friend betrays him.
Folaim - Copyrights
The relationship between a Saudi student living in LA California, and Satan.
Folaim - My Friend Satan
A young guy reenacts a scene of Dark Knight's "Joker" for an audition.