Nabil Maleh is a film director, screenwriter, producer, painter and poet and is considered the father of modern Syrian cinema. He earned his Master's degree from the film academy FAMU in Prague and has published more than 1,000 articles short stories, essays and poems. He is the writer and director of 120 short, experimental and documentary works and 12 feature- length films including The Extras and The Leopard. He has been honored with more than 60 awards at international film festivals, including several lifetime achievement awards. Several of his films are in the curriculum of international film schools and he has taught film direction, acting, writing and aesthetics at many universities, centers and associations, including Austin University in Texas and the University of California in Los Angeles.