Based in Cairo, Egyptian filmmaker Sherif Elbendary graduated from the Faculty of Applied Arts in 2001 before pursuing film directing at the High Institute of Cinema, where he earned his diploma in 2010 after graduating in 2007 with an honorable mention. Since 2008, he has been teaching film directing at the Institute.
Elbendary began his career in 2004 as an assistant director on feature films and commercials. Between 2008 and 2009, he directed several documentaries for Al Jazeera TV, produced by Hot Spot Films in Dubai, as well as TV commercials.
His first short fiction film, RISE AND SHINE (2006), produced by the Egyptian Film Center, was selected for more than 75 festivals in 33 countries and won 15 awards. His graduation project, AT DAY’S END (2008), produced by the High Institute of Cinema, was selected for over 50 festivals and received 14 awards.
With his short CURFEW, part of the collective feature 18 DAYS set during the Egyptian revolution, Elbendary participated in the Official Selection at Cannes 2011 and many other festivals. He was also selected for the Berlinale Talent Campus in 2007.
Currently, he is developing his first feature film script, TWO ROOMS AND A PARLOR, while continuing to direct short films, a form he deeply values for its concentrated narrative power.