Mouayed Zabtia

Director Mouayed Zabtia 2001: graduated from the Faculty of Arts and Media, Tripoli University. 2002: launched his own company "Mouayed Film". 2003: joined drama industry, wrote and directed his first TV series consisting of 15 episodes titled "Shabab Com". It was considered a qualitative drama transformation in Libyan TV, for it was the first young Libyan work broadcasted on the Libyan official station. In 2004, he wrote and a 15-episode series titled "Abnaokom" (your children), an extension to "Shababcom" series, with involving older local actors in it to discuss youth's perspective about their parents. It was also broadcasted on the local official channel in Libya by then. In 2005, he wrote and directed a short film titles "Layla". In 2006, he co-wrote and directed the 15-episode series "Libeyat" that was considered a qualitative transformation in the Libyan drama, as it included a big number of Libyan actors from the East and West. It tells in each episode short stories of social and political events in Libya. It was the first Libya series to directly criticize the Libyan regime by that time. It was broadcasted on "Al Libeya" channel, the first private channel during the rule of Qaddafi. The series came as the best TV series for that year in a survey conducted by "Al-Gamahereya" newspaper, the official gazette of that time. In 2007, he directed a documentary on the violations and tortures in official Libyan prisons. In 2008, he co-wrote and directed season 2 of "Libeyat" that consisted of 15 episodes. It went on to criticize the regime and had the highest number of followers on the channel according to a survey the channel conducted itself and published later. In 2009, he co-wrote and directed season 3 of "Libeyat" whose broadcasting was suspended that year due to regime pressures on the channel because the show bitterly criticized the regime. Therefore, seven episodes out of fifteen were broadcasted. Later the show won Al Shababeya Award, a local independent Libyan award, as the best TV work, best director, and best writer. In 2010, he directed season 4 of "Libeyat". After the official channel bought it, only ten episodes out of fifteen were broadcasted. The remaining episodes were not broadcasted because of its criticism of the government. In 2011, he directed a short movie titled "A Pen" that he used to participate in a number of Arab festivals. In 2012, he co-wrote and directed the series "Lebeyat Free" and used the word free after Libya was freed from Qaddafi regime. That made the work considered as getting free from state censorship that tightened its grip on "Libeyat" cast over the years the series was produced. That year, it was considered the first sarcastic drama work after February Revolution. It won Septimius Award as the best drama work and best director. Septimius Award is a Libyan independent award for different media production and is granted by committees formed in collaboration with the Libyan Ministry of Culture. In 2013, "Al Emara" film project was launched. Its production was suspended many times due to the deterioration in the security situation in Libya day after day, the civil war that started by the mid 2014, as well as the direct threats by a number of armed groups to the film cast. All this made it more difficult to finish the work, but thanks to the efforts exerted by this cast, the director managed to finish the film by early 2015.