Mounia Akl

Mounia Akl is a Lebanese Director and Writer. She has just completed her feature film COSTA BRAVA, LEBANON co-written with Clara Roquet and produced by Abbout Productions, which featured at the Venice Film Festival 2021 as part of Horizons Extra. It also featured at Toronto International Film Festival where the 2021 NETPAC Jury selected Costa Brava, Lebanon, as this year’s NETPAC winner. The 2021 NETPAC jury members included Gemma Cubero del Barrio, Isabelle Glachant and Elhum Shakerifar. “Costa Brava, Lebanon – an exquisite intergenerational family story – is an ode to sustainable futures by visionary new talent, Mounia Akl from her precious and troubled country,” said the NETPAC jury’s statement. Costa Brava is the recipient of London Film Festival’s Audience Award 2021.

With this project, she was selected to participate in the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Labs, the Cannes Cinefondation Residency, the Tribeca Film Institute and the Torino Film Lab.

Her short film, Submarine, was in the Official Selection of the 69th Cannes Film Festival (Cinéfondation), had its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and its MENA Premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival where it won the Jury Prize.

After Submarine, Mounia was chosen by the Directors’ Fortnight to represent Lebanon at the 70th Cannes Film festival as part of Lebanon factory. She co-wrote and co-directed with Costa Rican director Neto Villalobos and their film “El Gran Libano” opened the Directors’ Fortnight on May 18, 2017 then went on to screen at the BFI and the Sarajevo Film Festival.

When it comes to TV, Mounia is in development for TV show “2020 Women” with co-writers Clara Roquet, Francisca Alegria, and Fernanda Urejola. In recent years, Mounia directed the episode Forbidden Love in London of the Do Not Disturb Series, produced by Pulse Films and Jude Law, for Blackpills. It was the first time she had gone back to TV since her web/TV show in 2010, her first film school, Beirut I love You, which she co-created, co-directed, co-starred in, and ran on prime time on LBC for 40 episodes.