Haya B. AlGhanim (HBG) is a filmmaker and artist based between New York City and Kuwait City. Through her creative and professional practice, AlGhanim aims to preserve and represent modern Arab art and culture.
Her short films (documentary, narrative, and experimental) have screened at various international film festivals and exhibition venues. Her most recent short documentary, An Evening with Laila, premiered at the Malmo Arab Film Festival and won Best International Documentary at the Alexandria Short Film Festival. Her short narrative, Same, Old, premiered at the Urbanworld Film Festival (presented by HBO). Her short documentary, By the Medina, For the Medina, won in the best documentary short category at the first Kuwait Film Festival. Her short documentaries By the Medina, For the Medina and Freaky are distributed by New York University for educational use. She is now in development on her first narrative feature, Road 250, a selection of the Rawi Screenwriters Lab (in collaboration with the Sundance Institute) and Red Sea Lodge (in collaboration with TorinoFilmLab).
AlGhanim also produces digital content for new media platforms. Her commercial and marketing experience includes stints at Film at Lincoln Center, Us Weekly, and MATTE Projects. She is currently on the marketing team of leading film distributor Kino Lorber and a review committee member at the Gotham Film & Media Institute (previously IFP).
Haya AlGhanim received her MFA in Film from Columbia University, where she was a Teaching Fellow for the undergraduate Film Studies program. She holds a BA from The New School, where she was also a Teaching Assistant for courses in16mm filmmaking and digital video production.