Writer / Director / Creative Director
Yousef Assabahi is a Yemeni writer and director currently based in Los Angeles. After completing his studies at UCLA's School of Theater, Film, and Television in 2018, Yousef has written and directed several short films and commercials that explore cultural identity and collective memory of Yemenis at home and abroad. His films have screened in international festivals, universities and cultural institutions. Yousef’s recent short premiered at the Oscar-qualifying St. Louis International Film Festival, won Best Short at the Hollywood Arab Film Festival, and was shown at the Kennedy Center among others. Yousef is also a full-time Oral History producer for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Academy Museum in LA. He produces oral histories with luminary filmmakers across various disciplines in the global film industry. Most recently, he produced an oral history with legendary director Béla Tarr. Yousef is now writing his first feature film.