Al-Bader BenYahya al-Hirsi, commonly known as Bader Ben Hirsi, is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 playwright and director of Yemen

Yemen

The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

i ancestry.

Early life and education

Hirsi's father, Yahya al-Hirsi al-Ban, was from the city of Lahij

Lahij

Lahij or Lahej is a city and an area located between Ta'izz and Aden in Yemen. From the 18th to the 20th century, its rulers were of the Al-Abdali family who with Al-Sallami, Al-Ramada, Al-Sindi and al-Aqrabi, claims relation to Ahl al-Bayt...

. Al-Ban moved from Yemen to Britain in the 1960s, and it was in that country that Bader Ben Hirsi was born and raised, along with six brothers and seven sisters. Hirsi received a degree in business from the University of Buckingham

University of Buckingham

The University of Buckingham is an independent, non-sectarian, research and teaching university located in Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Great Ouse. It was originally founded as Buckingham University College in the 1970s and received its Royal Charter from the...

, and worked in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 as an investment banker

Investment banking

An investment bank is a financial institution that assists individuals, corporations and governments in raising capital by underwriting and/or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of securities...

 for several years. However, he decided to move into drama, and received a degree in drama production from Goldsmiths College, part of the University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

. Three of his plays, A Boring Affair, Claptrap, and On the Side of the Angels, were performed at the Edinburgh Fringe

Edinburgh Fringe

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...

 in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

.

Professional career

In 1995, Hirsi visited Yemen for the first time, and in 1996, he married a native Yemeni woman. Four years later, in 2000, Hirsi released the documentary The English Sheikh and the Yemeni Gentleman, which he directed and produced with the help of British expatriate Tim Mackintosh-Smith

Tim Mackintosh-Smith

Tim Mackintosh-Smith is a British, Yemen-based, Oxford-educated Arabist, writer, traveller and lecturer.Mackintosh-Smith lives in an ancient tower house off the "Market of the Cows" in the old city of San'a, Yemen. He is the author of the Yemen: Travels in Dictionaryland and Yemen: The Unknown...

.

In 2005, he released A New Day in Old Sana'a

A New Day in Old Sana'a

A New Day in Old Sana'a is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Bader Ben Hirsi, a British playwright and director of Yemeni ancestry, and produced by Ahmed Abdali. It was shot in San‘a’, the capital of Yemen, and was the first Yemeni film to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival...

(a romantic drama shot in San‘a’, the capital), which became the first feature length film to be shot in Yemen and the first Yemeni film to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival

Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...

. Hirsi himself had a cameo

Cameo appearance

A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...

 as a djinni

Genie

Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...

 at the end of the film. After the film won the award for best Arabic film at the Cairo International Film Festival

Cairo International Film Festival

The Cairo International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Cairo, Egypt. It was established in 1976 and was the first international film festival held in the Arab world...

, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

's Ministry of Culture

Ministry of Culture (Egypt)

The Ministry of Culture of Egypt is a ministry responsible for maintaining and promoting the culture of Egypt. The current Minister is Dr. Emad Badr El-Din Mahmoud Abu Ghazy.-Critics:...

 presented him with an award of 100,000 Egyptian pound

Egyptian pound

The Egyptian Pound is the currency of Egypt. It is divided into 100 Qirsh , or 1,000 Milliemes ....

s for "his role in promoting Arabic films."

External links

• Profile of Hirsi at New York Times Movies