Samir (filmmaker)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Samir Jamal al Din (born 29 July 1955), known professionally as Samir, is a Swiss filmmaker, film producer and director.
Samir was born the son of a Swiss mother and an Iraqi father in Baghdad. Samir's full name is Samir Jamal al Din / Samir Jamal Aldin. His family moved to Switzerland in 1961, where he went to school. He attended the School of Design in Zurich (today's ZHdK), completed an apprenticeship as a typographer (1971–73) and subsequently trained as a cameraman with Condor Films. From 1983, he worked as a freelance director and cinematographer. From 1984 to 1991 he was a writer and member of Videoladen Zurich (Video Store Zurich). In 1994, he and documentary filmmaker Werner Schweizer overtook the Dschoint Ventschr film production company.
From the mid-1980s, Samir began to produce his own films. In the 1990s he worked on behalf of Condor Films[1] as a director of series like Eurocops[2] and television films for German TV stations. His list of works – as a writer, director and/or producer – now includes over 40 short and feature films for cinema and TV.[3][4]
In 2006 Samir received the Aargau Culture Award (Aargauer Kulturpreis).[5]
Samir has chosen to only use his first name, as explained in this quote:
...why? "Jamal al Din means 'beauty of religion'. I do not know how you would feel if you were not very religious, and would always have to say, 'Hello, my name is Beauty of Religion'," says [he] ...For me Samir is perfect, as that means 'Storyteller'.[6]
