Ali Selim (born 1960/1961)
is an American film and television director. Over the past fifteen years he has directed over 850 television commercials, five half-hour documentaries and several music videos.
Early life
Selim was born in
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...
, and is of
Egyptian and
German descent. His parents were Dr. Mohamed Ali Selim and wife Evelyn Niemeier.
He has two siblings.
His father died in 2015 at the age of 91, and was a professor of economics at the
University of St. Thomas.
Career
His first project, a documentary celebrating the centennial of Saint Thomas Academy, won awards at several international film festivals. Selim formed his own production company (Departure Films) in 1989. He directed a number of award-winning television commercials, including a public service announcement for the
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...
which received a
Gold Lion, advertising's most coveted award, from
Cannes Advertising Film Festival in 1991. Later that year, Selim was hired by Giraldi/Suarez Productions.
In 1993 Selim wrote, produced and directed ''Yonnondio'', a 15-minute music video in collaboration with Academy Award-winning composer
Peter Buffett which was awarded the Silver Hugo from the
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the compo ...
and a CINE Golden. Selim was an honoree at the AICP Show, "The Art and Technique of the American Television Commercial," where his work was placed in the permanent collection of the
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, ...
in New York City.
His script for the film ''
Sweet Land
''Sweet Land'' is a 2005 American independent period drama film written and directed by Ali Selim. It is an adaptation of the 1989 short story "A Gravestone Made of Wheat" by Will Weaver. The film stars Elizabeth Reaser, Tim Guinee, Lois S ...
'', based on a short story by
Will Weaver, was the only screenplay selected for the inaugural year of the Cyngus Emerging Filmmakers Institute. The film, which took him fifteen years to finance, was shot in 2005 around
Chippewa County, Minnesota. It starred
Alan Cumming,
Ned Beatty,
Elizabeth Reaser,
Alex Kingston and
John Heard. The film was the recipient of the 2005 Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Film at the 13th Annual
Hamptons International Film Festival, the 2006 Florida Film Festival: Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature, and the 2007 Independent Spirit Awards: Best First Feature.
His narrative film ''Emperor of the Air'' (1996), based on
Ethan Canin's story of the same name, was awarded the top prize at Worldfest and the D. L. Mayberry Award. Selim was placed on ''Advertising Weeklys list of the top 1% most sought-after directors in the United States.
In May 2021, Selim was hired to direct episodes of the upcoming series ''
Secret Invasion
"Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight-issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008. The story involves a subversive, long-term i ...
'' for
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...
.
Personal life
Selim is married to Robin Engstrom, of
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
descent.
He lives in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...
.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selim, Ali
Living people
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American screenwriters
American male screenwriters
American television directors
American television writers
American male television writers
American people of Egyptian descent
American people of German descent
Artists from Saint Paul, Minnesota
Film directors from Minnesota
Screenwriters from Minnesota
University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) alumni
Writers from Saint Paul, Minnesota
Year of birth missing (living people)