Executive Director Michel Shehadeh is a long time Arab American activist. He is the former West Coast regional director of the American Arab Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC) and a member of the landmark Los Angeles Eight Case. His writings appeared in many English and Arabic publications such as the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Middle East Report, Al-Jazeera net and Al-Adab magazine. Mr. Shehadeh holds a BA in Journalism and a Master in Public Policy Administration from California State University, Long Beach. He produced and directed videos such as Edward Said at a Glance and Lest We Forget. His wide media experience include co-founding successful programs such as Radio Intifada at KPFK in Los Angeles, extensive interviews by print, radio and TV, and serving as a technical and cultural consultant on major films such as the Prince of Egypt, Three Kings, and Princess and the Marine. He is well known as a national public speaker on Arab issues and the Palestinian struggle for freedom. Mr. Shehadeh assumed the role of Executive Director of the Arab Film Festival early 2008.

Artistic Director Sonia El-Feki graduated from San Francisco State University in 2004 with a double major in Cinema and English. As a Tunisian-American growing up in Tunis, she has always had a foot in both worlds, which heightened her awareness of the often-conflicting relationship between these two cultures and fuelled her desire to bridge the gap that separates them. Sonia speaks English, French, Arabic, Italian and Spanish. She hopes to use her language skills and background in Film to contribute to the success of the Arab Film Festival by promoting a better understanding of Arab cultures and connecting filmmakers with the diverse community of the Bay Area.

Los Angeles Associate Director Rachel Gandin is a Southern California native, has a B.A. from UCLA and a Master's Degree in Arab Studies from Georgetown University, with a focus on Arabic Linguistics and Arab Cinema. While living in Washington DC she was involved in the organizing of the Washington DC International Film Festival. She has spent three years living in Cairo, Egypt, as a study abroad student, working for a human rights organization, and as a recipient of a prestigious Arabic language fellowship. Since returning to Los Angeles, she has worked on a documentary about Iraq, in the Film Acquisitions Department at 20th Century Fox, and at the independent film production company, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment.

Design Director Sharif Ezzat is a multimedia artist based in San Francisco. In 1998 he started GoodFood Productions, through which he works in a wide variety of digital media, from web sites to interactive kiosks and installations. His work has been featured by Adbusters, the Electronic Literature Organization, and the San Francisco International Film Festival. Sharif has toured extensively with human beatbox artist Yuri Lane, providing multimedia visuals for Yuri's theatrical and musical performances. Each year he dedicates a portion of his time to helping produce the Arab Film Festival, providing print, web, and motion graphics design expertise.

Board President Kathy Saade Kenny is a strategic planning and organization development consultant whose clients have included foundations and nonprofit organizations throughout the United States, the Council on Foundations, and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. She holds a Masters in Social Work and is a graduate of the Coro Foundation's civic leadership program. In addition to the Arab Film Festival board, she serves as a director of the Foundation for Osteoporosis Research and Education. She resides in Oakland, California and Mexico.

Board Vice President Dina Saba is a long-time Bay Area resident. Dina works in the Pharmaceutical Industry, specifically on HIV drug development. She holds a Chemistry degree from San Jose State University, Program and Project Management Certificate from San Jose State University Professional Development, a Project Management Certificate (PMP) from the Project Management Institute, and an MBA from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. She also founded the Arab Film Festival in 1996 and managed the festival through 2004.

Board Treasurer Bassam Totah has been involved in a variety of human and civil rights issues for the past 25 years, on the local, national and international levels. He has served on many boards and committees that have addressed fostering pluralism and egalitarianism, including the Mayor's Taskforce to write a human rights code for San Francisco. He has been a prosecutor with the San Francisco District Attorney's Office for the last 14 years. He is currently in charge of prosecuting felony Hate Crimes for San Francisco.

Board Secretary Carol Bisharat Sani is a mother of two, currently returning to the practice of law. She is a Bay Area native and holds a law degree from Hastings College of Law, and a bachelors degree from U.C. Berkeley. As an attorney in San Francisco for 10 years, she concentrated on the practice of immigration law, and the defense of juveniles. She has worked and volunteered for several non-profits focused on peace and justice in the Middle East.

Board Member Bahya Oumlil-Murad is an event consultant. A native of Morocco, Bahya moved to the Bay Area in 1998 to pursue a college education in Organizational Communication and event planning. After experiences at Stanford Law School External Relations and San Francisco City Hall Events Department, she now focuses on event consulting. Bahya is currently involved with many non-profit organizations such as Raphael House and the Breast Cancer Emergency Fund.

Board Member Bashir Anastas is a small business owner and Bay Area resident since 1998. Prior to operating his business, Mr. Anastas worked as a professional engineer in public works for several cities and counties in northern California. Mr. Anastas is active in many community organizations and has assumed the role of Executive Director of the Arab Film Festival from January 2005 to December 2007, after volunteering for the festival for several years. He is committed to community health by participating in public dialogues and speaking engagements to educate the public about the Arab world and the question of Palestine.

Board Member Peter Boyle has been a lawyer in San Francisco for approximately 40 years. After being a partner in two firms, he began an independent practice in 1982, and since then, he has focused his services on business transactional matters, nonprofit corporations, and estate planning. Previously, he served as general counsel of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. He assisted the Festival in forming a nonprofit corporation (it had previously operated as a nonprofit association) and in obtaining tax exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Boyle received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Board Member Ziad Rouag is currently a Director of Regulatory Affairs with Evalve Inc. a Medical Device Manufacturer in Menlo Park California. Prior to joining Evalve, Ziad served as a Regulatory and Clinical Affairs Director with Johnson & Johnson and Guidant Corporation. In addition, Ziad held various other legal and regulatory positions. Ziad is married to Danielle Polsenski an Attorney in San Francisco, California. Ziad and Danielle share their San Francisco home with two lovely children Jibril (4) and Nadia (2). Ziad Was Born in Algeria, and has lived in various countries including France, and Canada. Ziad is fluent in four languages and holds B.S. degrees in Biology and Economics and a Juris Doctorate degree.

Board Member Jean-Paul Samaha specializes in the sale of residential property with Vanguard Properties in San Francisco. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, he came to the United States with his family in 1976 during the Lebanon civil war. He holds a Masters Degree in International Policy Studies from the Monterey Institute, and was a Fellow with the Coro Foundation. His public sector background includes policy positions in San Francisco government agencies such as the Board of Supervisors and the Planning Department, and volunteer positions with political organizations such as the Arab American Democratic Club, where he served as President, and on the Boards of community-based non-profit organizations, including the LGBT Community Center.

Hany Abu-Assad was born in Nazareth to a Palestinian family in 1961. After having studied and worked as an airplane engineer in The Netherlands for several years, he entered the world of cinema and television as a producer. In 2000, he and Bero Beyer founded Augustus Film. Since then, he has directed "Rana's Wedding" (2002), "Ford Transit" (2002) and "Paradise Now," which won the 2006 Golden Globe Award for best Foreign Language Film, an Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film, and was nominated for a 2006 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Abu-Assad is currently developing several feature films in Los Angeles.

Asaad Kelada is Co-Founder of the Santa Barbara Theatre in Santa Barbara, California and is currently the Television & Stage Director. After graduating from the American University in Cairo, he traveled to the United States to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree in Directing from Yale in 1964. As a performer, he acted in several major Egyptian films, such as the classic "Bab el Hadid" ("Cairo Station"), directed by the acclaimed Youssef Chahine. He also sang at many important venues in Cairo, which led to long-running engagements at the famed Auberge des Pyramides. In the U.S., Asaad has directed over 450 episodes for major television networks, including such series as "The Facts of Life", "Who's the Boss?" and "Everybody Loves Raymond". Asaad has also directed key productions for distinguished theatres around the country, including The Met and El Portal Center for the Arts, both in Los Angeles. Internationally, he has served as an advisor and creative consultant, developing new television series for Tele-Images, a French TV production company based in Paris.

Rashid Khalidi is the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies and Director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University and editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies. Previously, he was President of the Middle East Studies Association and an advisor to the Palestinian delegation in the Madrid and Washington Arab-Israeli peace negotiations from October 1991 until June 1993. He is the author of The Iron Cage (2006), Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America's Perilous Path in the Middle East (2004), and Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness (1997). He has written over eighty scholarly articles on aspects of Middle East history and politics, as well as op-ed pieces in The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune and The Nation. Dr. Khalidi has been a guest on numerous radio and TV shows including All Things Considered, Talk of the Nation, Morning Edition, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, Nightline, the BBC, Radio France Inter, the CBC and the Voice of America.

Tony Shalhoub, actor, director, and producer, currently stars as Adrian Monk, in the television series MONK. He has had leading roles in dozens of feature films, most recently providing the voice of Luigi in the Pixar hit film, "Cars," as well as in the soon to be released "1408". Shalhoub made his feature directorial debut with the independent film "Made Up," in which he co-starred with his wife, Brooke Adams. He will also be releasing "AmericanEast", an independent film that he co-produced, later this year. His experience extends off-screen and on-stage, including many New York theater appearances, proving himself to be one of the most versatile and popular character actors working today.

Kathy Najimy is known internationally for her portrayal of "Sister Mary Patrick" in the blockbuster hits Sister Acts 1 and 2.She has also appeared in leading roles on Broadway, on television and in her own original off-Broadway play The Kathy and Mo Show � which garnered her an Obie Award. For her 20 years of AIDS activism, she has been honored with the L.A. Shanti's Founder award as well as the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's Distinguished Achievement Award. As a proud Lebanese-American, Kathy has received awards from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Arabic Museum of Tolerance and the Arab Comedy Festivals Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2005, she was Ms. Magazine's Woman of the Year.

Internationally acclaimed author and media critic, Dr. Jack G. Shaheen, is a committed internationalist and a devoted humanist. A Pittsburgh-native and former CBS news consultant on Middle East Affairs, Shaheen's lectures and writings illustrate that damaging racial and ethnic stereotypes of Asians, blacks, Native Americans and others injure innocent people. Dr. Shaheen is the author of four books: Nuclear War Films, Arab and Muslim Stereotyping in American Popular Culture, The TV Arab and the award-winning book [and DVD] Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. His writings include 300-plus essays in publications such as Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post to chapters on media stereotypes in dozens of college textbooks. He has appeared on national network programs such as CNN, MSNBC, National Public Radio, Nightline, Good Morning America, 48 Hours, and The Today Show. Dr. Shaheen has served as a consultant on "Three Kings," "Syriana" and other feature films; he has worked with film and TV companies like DreamWorks, Warner Brothers, Hanna-Barbera, and Showtime.

Naomi Shihab Nye lives in San Antonio, Texas. Her recent books include You & Yours, Going Going, A Maze Me, 19 Varieties of Gazelle; Poems of the Middle East (a National Book Award finalist in 2002), Come with Me: Poems for a Journey, Fuel, Red Suitcase and Habibi ,a novel for teens which won 6 Best Book awards. She has edited seven anthologies of poetry for young readers, including This Same Sky, The Tree is Older than You Are, The Space Between our Footsteps: Poems & Paintings from the Middle East, What Have You Lost? and Salting the Ocean. A visiting writer for many years all over the world, she has been a Lannan Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow and a Library of Congress Witter Bynner Fellow.

Co-president of C-2 Pictures, Mario Kassar is known as a major innovator in international motion picture production, financing and distribution. He served as Executive Producer of such hits as "Rambo", "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (grossed over $500 million dollars worldwide and winner of four Academy Awards), "Basic Instinct" (garnered two Oscar nominations), "Total Recall", "Cliffhanger" (earned two Oscar nominations) and "Stargate", among many others. In total, his films as producer and executive producer have grossed nearly $3 billion in worldwide theatrical box office returns, making him one of the most creative and prolific filmmakers in the motion picture industry.

Joan Widdifield is a film critic and journalist for a San Francisco based nationally syndicated Public Radio show. She graduated with honors from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology with her practice and expertise in psychological trauma; she co-wrote a book about child sexual abuse for professionals in 2005. She served on the board of Community Violence Solutions from 2001 to 2006. She is the Psychological Advisor to Clear Path International, a victim-assistance NGO that serves victims of unexploded ordnance (uxo), in Vietnam, Cambodia and the border of Burma and Thailand. She is a member of Civil Society working on the Oslo International Treaty to ban cluster munitions. She is the Producer-Director of a feature length documentary film in post-production, about the victims of the uxo leftover from the American war in Vietnam. Since the late 1970's she has been interested in Middle Eastern issues and, believes that the most accessible medium for cross-cultural understanding is film arts. She is honored to serve on the board of the Arab Film Festival, especially in these times of misunderstanding.

Mhamed Ibnabdeljalil, a former AFF board member, is currently the Executive Director of Sales & Marketing at the Office Cherifien des Phosphates (OCP), a Mining and Chemical company headquartered in Casablanca, Morocco. Prior to, M'hammed spent the better part of his career in the semi-conductor industry in various roles and companies ranging from Fortune 100 companies to early stage startups, to Management consulting. He earned a BS and MS in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of London and a PhD in Theoretical & Applied Mechanics from Cornell University.

Hassan Sassi is a Senior Structural and Earthquake Engineer with URS Corporation in Los Angeles with 41 years of experience in structural dynamics, structural mechanics and earthquake engineering. He also is a member of the civil engineering faculty of Cal Poly Pomona and a retired professor of engineering of the University of Southern California.

Dr. Sassi's love of music-dance and film mixed with his love of engineering and architecture has led him to become a board member of the Kan Zaman Community Ensample, where he served as the public relations director for 6 years and is a co-founder of the friends of MESTO music orchestra; his love of film led him to join the advisory board of the newly found Arab Film Festival (AFF) in Los Angeles, where he was instrumental in bringing the Arab film to the movie capitol of the world, Hollywood. He also is a promoter of a documentary film that one 8 golden awards, Occupation 101, directed by 2 Libyan-American brothers. He also contributed slides and music to the making of The Last Jews of Libya, a documentary about the history of Libyan Jews living in the Diaspora directed by Vivienne Roumani. Dr. Sassi has been recently approached to serve on the board of directors of the AFF.