Wissam Smayra

Wissam Smayra (born April 8, 1974) is a Lebanese film director, screenwriter, and producer.

He is known for directing the controversial film Perfect Strangers (2022), as well as being an executive producer on Academy Award for Best Foreign Film nominated Capernaum (2018).

= Early life =

Wissam Smayra was born in Beirut, Lebanon on April 8, 1974.

His formative years were defined by the harsh realities of conflict as he grew up in war-ravaged neighborhoods.

His family home became a casualty of bombings, shaping the backdrop of his upbringing.

These turbulent experiences during the war laid the groundwork for his resilience and artistic inclination.

Despite the adversity, he found solace in storytelling, a coping mechanism that would ultimately pave the way for his future career as a prolific and diversified director.

=Career=

After completing his studies in Film in Beirut, Smayra began his career in the advertising industry.

He initially served as a creative director for Beirut-based agencies overseeing projects in the MENA region before transitioning into directing his own advertisements.

This unveiled his distinctive style and innovative approach, as he soared to become one of the most prolific ad directors in the region with over 700 TV commercials since 2001.

Smayra is credited in the industry with having paved the way for a new generation of Lebanese and Arab commercial directors.

His work garnered numerous accolades at prestigious events including Cannes Lions, the Epica Awards, and Dubai Lynx, consolidating his standing as an eminent figure in the industry.

Smayra collaborated with prominent brands such as Vodafone, Pepsi-Cola, Garnier - L'Oréal, and Cartier.

These campaigns featured notable personalities such as Tunisian-Egyptian actress Hend Sabry, Egyptian actress Menna Shalabi, Egyptian model-actress Tara Emad, Lebanese actress Razane Jammal, Egyptian football player Mohamed Aboutrika, Egyptian musician Tamer Hosny, Lebanese singer and actress Myriam Fares, Egyptian actor Hussein Fahmy, Moroccan football player Abdeslam Ouaddou, among others.

In 2023, Smayra directed the holy Ramadan advertising campaign for Cartier, featuring Tunisian-Egyptian actress Hend Sabry, Tunisian actor Dhafer L'Abidine, Egyptian model-actress Tara Emad, Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek and entrepreneur Anas Bukhash.

Perhaps more notable in Smayra's career is his direction of music videos.

Smayra has directed the music videos of some of the most legendary music artists from Ragheb Alama, one of the most streamed Arab singers, to Jean-Jacques Goldman, the highest-grossing living French pop rock act.

Ragheb Alama

In 2004, Smayra initiated his collaboration with Lebanese singer Joe Ashkar, working together on two music videos.

His talent quickly captured the attention of the acclaimed Lebanese singer Ragheb Alama.

He directed his major hit "Nasīni El Donya نسينى الدنيا" (trans: "Make Me Forget the World").

Shot in Milan and produced by Khodr Alama and Anne-Valerie Lahoud, Ragheb Alama played himself alongside then-debuting Paraguayan model Claudia Galanti.

The video, featuring the launch of Mercedes Benz's new CLS model for the Middle East, garnered even more attention after a significant launch event later that year.

Today, the song is considered a classic and though it was released on TV, still managed to amass over 82 million views on YouTube and 18 million streams on Anghami ten years after its initial release.

A few months later, Smayra and Alama joined forces once more as Smayra directed the music video for "El Hobb El Kebir الحب الكبير" (trans: The Great Love), featuring Brazilian model Rosana de Souza.

Released in 2005, the song became another hit accumulating over 32 million views on YouTube more than ten years after its initial release.

Filmed atop one of Kuala Lumpur's prominent towers, the video not only achieved commercial success, but also played a significant role in promoting tourism in Malaysia within the Arab world.

He directed the music video to her hit song "Haklak Rahtak حقلق راحتك" (trans: "I Will Disturb Your Comfort") in 2006 in Paris starring French actor, Lannick Gautry.

That same year, Smayra also directed Fares's "Waheshni Eih وحشني ايه" (trans: "How Come I miss you") shot in Beirut one week before the 2006 Lebanon War.

The video, featuring car chases in the city, was released later that year and achieved wide success.

Jean-Jacques Goldman

In 2007, Smayra directed the acclaimed music video for "4 Mots sur un piano," a composition by the highest-grossing living French pop rock artist, Jean-Jacques Goldman.

The song tells a poignant tale of a love triangle involving two men and one woman.

Initially accepted by all three individuals, the relationship faces challenges when the two men request the woman to make a choice between them.

In 2012, Smayra directed "Habeeb Dehkāty حبيب ضحكاتي" (trans: "The Love of my Laughs"), which was filmed during the artist's French tour.

The video was shot at the Olympia Theater and the Peninsula Hotel in Paris and features the French actress Sarah Darmon.

Myriam Fares

Smayra continued his success by directing music videos for Myriam Fares, known in the Arab world as the "Queen of the Stage" for being one of the only female Arab artists to perform choreographed dance routines while singing live on stage.