
Directing
Shahad Ameen
Place of birth
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Known for
Directing
Credits
6 titles
Shahad Ameen (born 1988, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) is a Saudi filmmaker and screenwriter. She is best known for her feature films Scales (2019) and Hijra (2025), both of which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival. Her work often explores women, identity, tradition, and freedom. She collaborated with Iraqi filmmaker Mohamed Al-Daradji on Hijra, with Al-Daradji serving as a producer and editor on the film.
Known for
NRIn a burning Baghdad, a homeless boy escapes into myth, seeking to resurrect his parents. As his friend is drawn into violence, Chum-Chum must save him, guided by the shadows of Gilgamesh and the Lamassu in a city that refuses to die.
Irkalla: Gilgamesh's Dream
2026
NRA drama centered on the bond formed between different generations of Saudi women during a journey across the desert to Mecca. When the eldest granddaughter disappears, the grandmother travels to the north in search of the missing teenager.
Hijra
2026
6.7Hayat, a 12-year-old strong-willed girl, lives in a poor fishing village governed by dark tradition, in which every family must give away a daughter to the sea creatures who inhabit the waters near by. In turn, the sea creatures are hunted by the men of the village. Saved from this ordeal by her father, Hayat is outcasted by her village and considered a curse. But Hayat never surrenders. When Hayat’s mother gives birth to her new-born brother, Hayat must accept the brutal custom by sacrificing herself to these creatures or find a way to escape.
Scales
2020
Leila finds her self isolated from everyone around her, but she faces up to her loneliness.
Leila's Window
2011
Behind the camera
NRIn a burning Baghdad, a homeless boy escapes into myth, seeking to resurrect his parents. As his friend is drawn into violence, Chum-Chum must save him, guided by the shadows of Gilgamesh and the Lamassu in a city that refuses to die.
Irkalla: Gilgamesh's Dream
2026
NRA drama centered on the bond formed between different generations of Saudi women during a journey across the desert to Mecca. When the eldest granddaughter disappears, the grandmother travels to the north in search of the missing teenager.
Hijra
2026
NRA drama centered on the bond formed between different generations of Saudi women during a journey across the desert to Mecca. When the eldest granddaughter disappears, the grandmother travels to the north in search of the missing teenager.
Hijra
2026
6.7Hayat, a 12-year-old strong-willed girl, lives in a poor fishing village governed by dark tradition, in which every family must give away a daughter to the sea creatures who inhabit the waters near by. In turn, the sea creatures are hunted by the men of the village. Saved from this ordeal by her father, Hayat is outcasted by her village and considered a curse. But Hayat never surrenders. When Hayat’s mother gives birth to her new-born brother, Hayat must accept the brutal custom by sacrificing herself to these creatures or find a way to escape.
Scales
2020
6.7Hayat, a 12-year-old strong-willed girl, lives in a poor fishing village governed by dark tradition, in which every family must give away a daughter to the sea creatures who inhabit the waters near by. In turn, the sea creatures are hunted by the men of the village. Saved from this ordeal by her father, Hayat is outcasted by her village and considered a curse. But Hayat never surrenders. When Hayat’s mother gives birth to her new-born brother, Hayat must accept the brutal custom by sacrificing herself to these creatures or find a way to escape.
Scales
2020
Leila finds her self isolated from everyone around her, but she faces up to her loneliness.
Leila's Window
2011
