Ziad Foty

Founder of Foty Fusion Films, Ziad Foty is an independent director, writer, and producer based in the DMV area. His films seek to highlight underrepresented stories in an effort to challenge the dominant representation in cinema. His experience in documentary, experimental, and narrative conventions has led to the production of a diverse crop of films including experimental short "The Strange Ways of the Occident" (2015) and short documentary film "The Renaissance Man" (2017) about a DC native combating gentrification through art. Most recently, Ziad's debut narrative short "El Mahal" (2019) about a Palestinian-American's struggle to survive in a family-run grocery store, won "Best Foreign Language Short'' at the 2019 Marina Del Ray Film Festival and "Best Cinematography" and "2nd place general submission Award" at the 2019 Wheaton Film Festival. In 2021 Ziad will premiere narrative short Blue (2021), and his debut feature documentary "Return to Ramallah" (2021) about his father returning back to his native Palestine after 40 years in America.