Zain Duraie

Zain Duraie
Born	12 August Amman, Jordan
Occupation(s)	Director, Actress and Writer
Years active	2013 - present

Zain Duraie is a Jordanian director, writer and actress. ^{[1] [2] [3]} She is best known for her work on the short film Give Up the Ghost. ^{[4] [5]}

Life and career

Duraie was born and raised in Amman, Jordan. Duraie graduated from the Toronto Film School. ^[6] She started her career as a trainee at Philistine Films with filmmaker Annemarie Jacir and producer Ossama Bawardi. ^{[7] [8]} Her directorial debut short film Horizon, won the Best of the Festival Selects at the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films, Audience Choice Award at the Franco Arab Film Festival and Best first young filmmaker at the Algeria’s International women film festival. ^{[9] [10] [11]} In 2019, her second short film Give up the Ghost premiered in competition at the Venice International Film Festival and won the Best Arab Short Film award at the El Gouna Film Festival. ^[4]

In 2025, Duraie made her feature-length debut with Sink starring Clara Khoury, Mohammed Nizar and Wissam Tobeileh, which will have its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. ^[12]

Filmography

Year	Film	Writer	Director	Notes
2013	Horizon	Y	Y	Short film
2019	Give Up the Ghost	Y	Y	Short film
2025	Sink	Y	Y

As Actress

• 2016 - In Overtime (short film)
• 2018 - The Box (short film)

References

1. "Zain Duraie: "I Made a Movie About Women's Rights in a Male-dominated Society"". bostonpalestinefilmfest.org. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
2. "Women's Optimism in the Face of Oppression". bbc.com. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
3. "Every young director's dream: Cannes exposure a great opportunity for Jordan's film industry". albawaba.com. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
4. De Olivia, Ana. "El Gouna Film Festival: Give Up The Ghost wins Best Arab Short Film". Euro News. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
5. "Biennale Cinema 2019 | Give Up The Ghost". La Biennale di Venezia. 2019-07-17. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
6. "Round-up of Toronto Film School Involvement at TIFF". torontofilmschool.ca. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
7. "Asia Pacific Screen" (PDF). griffith.edu.au. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
8. "Philistine Films". africine.org. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
9. "Horizon". bostonpalestinefilmfest.org. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
10. "Franco-Arab Film Festival concludes with Falcon Awards". vista.sahafi.jo. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
11. "Algeria: First International Women Film Festival Opens in Algiers". allafrica.com. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
12. Ntim, Zac (23 July 2025). "TIFF 2025: 'The Man In My Basement' Starring Corey Hawkins & Willem Dafoe Among Discovery Titles". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 4 September 2025.

External links

• Zain Duraie at IMDb