Nayla Al Khaja


Nāyla al-Khāja is the first female film director-producer in the United Arab Emirates. She is the CEO of Nayla Al Khaja Films, a Dubai-based company previously named D-Seven Motion Pictures, and is also founder of The Scene Club, Dubai’s first film club, launched in 2007. Al-Khāja wrote, produced and directed several films, presented and awarded in international film festivals. Since 2018, Al-Khāja focuses on directing films. She is also a motivational speaker, a cultural consultant and an influencer.

Beginnings

Holder of a degree in Mass Communication from Dubai Women's College, she graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor in Image Studies and Filmmaking from Ryerson University. Back in Dubai, she directed and produced the documentary Unveiling Dubai. Supported by H.H. Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE’s Minister of Higher Education, the film premiered at the 2006 Dubai International Film Festival and he officially announced her as the first woman filmmaker in the UAE.

Filmmaker

Paving the way for her career as a professional film director, al-Khaja shot several debut films as of 1993. Her first 8mm work was a film called Sweet Sixteen. It was entirely shot in the deserts of Mirdif and was immediately followed by The Will, in collaboration with Tim Smythe, from the Dubai production company Filmworks. She experimented the documentary style with 3adi.com, followed by two narratives, Cockroach and The Loss. In 2006, Al Khaja wrote and directed her first commissioned short film, Arabana about child abuse, which premiered at DIFF 2007. The same year, she was awarded the title of Best Emirati Filmmaker. She wrote and directed three more short films: Once, Malal and The Neighbor. Malal received the Muhr Emirati Award at DIFF 2010 and The Neighbor was awarded Best Emirati Film at the 2014 Abu Dhabi Film Festival. In October 2016, she shot the pilot of her first feature film, Animal, nominated for the Muhr Emirati Awards at DIFF 2016. This short film received the Jury’s Special Prize for Best Short Fiction at the Italian Movie Award in Pompeii, Italy, in September 2017. Animal also received the Jury Award in the "Narrative Film" category at the Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival in February 2018. Since 2017, Al Khaja has been developing her first feature film, Animal, and was awarded an accreditation to present the project at the Producers Network during the Cannes Film Festival in May 2018.

Entrepreneur

Since its inception in 2005, Nayla al-Khaja's production house, D-Seven Motion Pictures, has been focusing on projects fully developed and produced locally. Over the years, she has produced in numerous promotional films and TV commercials in the UAE for local and international brands, while mentoring young Arab talents. In 2015, her company was hired by Discovery Studios for a TV show about Dubai housewives. An American reality-show channel bought the rights for this show and D-Seven Motion Pictures line-produced its pilot, entirely shot in Dubai. The same year, the Dubai Film and TV Commission asked Al Khaja’s company to shoot a behind-the-scenes film for Star Trek Beyond to highlight Dubai as a regional filming hub. Her film club, The Scene Club has been continuously presenting a wide selection of independent movies and award-winning films in their original format to UAE audiences. The year 2017 marked the 10th anniversary of the club. In 2017 D-Seven Motion Pictures rebranded to Nayla Al Khaja Films.

Influencer

Since 2011, Nāyla al-Khāja has been a Brand Ambassador for Canon Middle East. She frequently travels abroad to speak in international keynotes about cinema, entrepreneurship, culture, youth motivation and women's empowerment in the Middle East. She also directs and produces digital content for social media channels and delivers daily live sessions on Instagram. Since October 2017, she has directed and appeared in her own YouTube web-series, #NaylaFlogs, where she shares her life as a filmmaker with her followers. Al-Khaja has helped develop the UAE’s film industry and has advocated for the role of women in cinema. While she kept supporting and mentoring Middle Eastern talents, she became a reference for professionals in the region.

Filmography