Dwight E. Brooks is Dean of the College of Communication and Media Sciences at Zayed University. Prior to coming to ZU in 2018, Brooks was vice dean of Hofstra University’s (New York) Lawrence Herbert School of Communication. Brooks is an accomplished academic leader in fostering shared governance, international education, and student success.
One of the true joys of Brooks’ role as dean is his work with ZUMEFF. The student film festival experience is rewarding: “Where else do I get the chance to work with so many talented student storytellers, professional filmmakers, Her Excellency the President, and so many colleagues, supporters, and friends?” In this vein, a special thank you goes to twofour54, ZUMEFF’s major sponsor and supporter.
Brooks is especially excited about this year’s international ZUMEFF. We are blessed to have received some 2,000 films from every corner of the world! Although this year’s virtual platform has presented its challenges, we also have some exciting opportunities to expand our audience reach and try some new things for ZUMEFF.
ZUMEFF will commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the UAE by awarding the “Pioneer Prize” to the film that best exemplifies the UAE leadership legacy of national development. “I am honored to serve as CCMS Dean during this wonderful celebration. I am humbled as a co-chair of the ZUMEFF Steering Committee to recognize some of the best student creativity in this very special year”.
Filareti Kotsi, Ph.D., a recipient of several recognition awards, is a Professor and the Graduate Programs Coordinator at the College of Communication and Media Sciences at the Dubai campus at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Due to her love for cinema and her role as co-chair, Filareti is dedicated to keeping alive the Zayed University Middle East Film Festival (ZUMEFF), the only surviving film festival in the UAE today. She has organized several international tourism conferences, and her leadership of multidisciplinary teams has resulted in more than seventy publications. Filareti was awarded her Ph.D. at the Ecole Normale Supérieure (France), her master’s at the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium), and her bachelor’s degree at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece). Aspiring to publish her poems, she studies Creative Writing at the University of Oxford (UK). She was awarded the Advanced Creative Writing and Life Writing Certificate at the University of Oxford and the Oxford Executive Leadership Programme Certificate at the University of Oxford. Outside of work, Filareti is engaged in international humanitarian work and enjoys the art of photography. She is currently training to participate in an international swimming event in FINA World Masters Championships 2022 (Japan).
Richard Cawood is an award-winning educator, creative media professional and photographer currently based in Dubai, UAE. Richard earned his bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Cincinnati’s prestigious College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP).
For the past 3 years, Richard has been the lead creative for ZUMEFF developing the brand direction and all digital marketing collateral including the official ZUMEFF website, all social media and video content.
Richard’s professional journey has been a seamless blend of three core expertise areas: teaching, creative leadership and photography. The ability to merge these 3 areas has given him a multidisciplinary edge that allows him to successfully adapt to every given creative challenge in the classroom, in the studio or with a client.
Professionally he has led creative technology-driven projects for clients such as Hulu, Virgin America and Nike, and managed a vibrant team of instructional technologists at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in his role as Instructional Technology Manager. In addition, in the creative space, Richard has created several large-scale digital productions for operas in the US and Europe. In the classroom, he is constantly changing the paradigm for students to learn how to be critical thinkers and creative content producers using digital tools.
With his camera, he seeks to make the viewer aware of the beauty and details in the places, landscapes and people he shoots. His portrait photography is described as emotive minimalism. He seeks to convey a deep connection and engagement with the model to capture natural and raw emotions. His photography work has been published in several magazines (both print and online) and was recently recognized by renowned lens manufacturer Zeiss in their globally recognized photography blog, LensPire.
Richard is also interested in giving back to the creative community. He is a core member of the CreativeMornings Dubai team. CreativeMornings is a global movement focused on bringing creatives of all disciplines together for monthly creative lectures.
Andrea Juhasz is Sr. Academic Administrative Officer within the College of Communication and Media Sciences (CCMS) at Zayed University and simply put, Andrea is the glue that keeps everything together within the college, and that includes ZUMEFF!
Motaz H Matar is an award-winning film and television director and screenwriter, holding an MFA degree in Cinematic Arts and an additional Master of Arts degree in serial storytelling from the International Film School of Cologne, Germany in December 2018 where he was the only Arab enrolled in the third cohort of the Serial Storytelling Master’s program in 2019.
In 2012 Matar was awarded the Golden Award at the PromaxBDA Arabia for a television teaser he wrote and directed. In 2017 Matar’s debut feature film “Slingshot” was an official selection in the Mediterranean Film Festival in Cannes and the Culcutta International Film Festival.
Matar is the founder of the first Arabic Chat Fiction application “Hakawaty” that aims to reinvent the way stories are consumed in the Arab world in the light of the 21st century.
Matar’s research areas focus on screenwriting and dramaturgy with a focus on: “Obstacles facing distribution of Arabic TV narratives”. Matar is in the process of completing his textbook on Dramaturgy. The textbook is written in Arabic and will be available to university students and academics late 2021.
Matar is currently in the development of several Serial TV concepts and Feature films and is currently in the pre-production of his feature 2d animated film “The Two Seas” which is to be completed in July 2022.
Rochelle Williams is a digital media specialist teaching digital design & photography, media law & media management. She has taught at University level in the US, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates. She is a freelance designer who has worked for various agencies & organizations in South Africa, Hong Kong and the UAE. Rochelle designed & implemented a pre-school curriculum that gives children a strong foundation for future linguistic, kinesthetic & mathematical development. She has published The Hungry Camel, her first children’s book.
Many thanks to Rochelle for all her work on coordinating and prepping our talented MC’s for this year’s#ZUMEFF2021.
Dr. Azza Ahmed is a full professor of Mass Communication and the Coordinator of Media in Arabic Program at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates. Before that, she worked as a professor and assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Abu Dhabi University. She was an associate professor at the United Arab Emirates University. Also, Azza is a full professor in the Faculty of Mass Communication, Cairo University, Egypt.
Azza got her Ph.D. in Television studies from Cairo University. Her M.A was in Journalism and Communication, The American University in Cairo. She completed her Graduate Diploma in Television Journalism and received a Professional Certificate in Television Production from the AUC.
Azza supervised and directed the production of two TV News programs at Abu Dhabi University. She trained and supervised the establishing crew of The Nile TV International channel at the Egyptian Radio and TV Union. She worked as a free-lance producer, director and editor in the TV Journalism Center at the AUC, Nile TV channel and BBC bureau in Egypt. Azza received a recognition and appreciation certificate from Al- Habib Al Redah Media Creativity Award in UAE for serving as a judge and organizing committee member.
Elyazya Almenhali is a Communication and Media Sciences student with a concentration in Tourism and Cultural Communication. She chose to study at Zayed University because it is known for the Tourism and Cultural Communication major.
Elyazya enjoys debating and watching and critiquing films in a variety of genres. In addition to being a full-time student Elyazya makes time to volunteer to develop her skills and knowledge. She has volunteered at Abu Dhabi TV, ATHS and now at Expo 2020.
Elyazya is a key member of the #ZUMEFF2021 team as she is MC’ing the event with our very own Nouf Alkithiri.
Azmat Rasul (PhD, Florida State University) is an Assistant Professor in Integrated Strategic Communication in the College of Communication and Media Sciences, Zayed University (ZU), UAE. Before joining ZU, he served as an Assistant Professor at the University of the Punjab, Exchange Professor/Lecturer in the Department of Communication Arts at Valdosta State University, and Postdoctoral Research Fellow and co-founder of the South Asian Media and Cultural Studies Program in the College of Communication at Florida State University.
Prior to entering academia, Rasul had worked in advertising and government public relations. His research focuses on the effects of strategic communication campaigns on attitudes, uses and effects of entertainment and social media, political economy of global entertainment industries, media portrayal of gender, and media regulation and policy.
His work has appeared in journals such Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Asian Journal of Communication, International Communication Gazette, Internet Research, The Communication Review, Communication, Culture and Critique, and Journal of Intercultural Communication Research. He was selected to receive several academic awards including Top Paper Awards (Mass Communication Division, ICA, 2015 and Mass Communication Division, NCA, 2016), the FSU Academic Leadership Award in 2015, the Mathew Grindy Prize for teaching excellence in 2014, and the College of Communication and Information Leadership Award in 2013.
Nouf Alkathiri is a student in CCMS at Zayed University. She has a passion to create content and communicate with people. She likes anything that makes her adrenaline flow particularly sky diving and public speaking are amongst her favorites.
Nouf is a key member of the #ZUMEFF2021 team as she will be MC’ing the event with our very own Elyazya Almenhali.