Nasri Atallah
Nasri Atallah | |
|---|---|
 Atallah in 2013 | |
| Born | Nasri Atallah 12 November 1982 London, England |
| Nationality | British and Lebanese |
| Education | |
| Occupation(s) | Editor-in-Chief, Esquire Middle East Writer Producer |
| Notable work | |
| Spouse | |
| Website | nasriatallah |
Nasri Atallah (born 12 November 1982)[1] is a British-Lebanese author, award-winning producer, television host[2] and media entrepreneur. He is the former Editor-in-Chief of Esquire Middle East, one of the co-founders of Last Floor Productions and a former contributing writer at GQ Middle East.
Biography
[edit]Nasri Atallah was born and grew up in London, United Kingdom, where he attended the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle. His parents, Samir Atallah and May Francis, are both British-Lebanese and were living in London at the time. His father, Samir Atallah, is a prominent Arab author, journalist and thinker, and the winner of many awards for his decades of contribution to Arab literature.[3][4]
Atallah moved to Beirut for the first time in 1997, finished school and read politics at the American University of Beirut.[5] He holds a Masters in International politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies,[6] where he completed a dissertation on the Deterritorialization of Identity Through Transnational Media.
Career
[edit]Atallah started is career at the United Nations Development Programme, then moved into energy research, later joining a wealth management firm[7] before moving into advertising, content and production in 2009.
During a brief stint at J. Walter Thompson as a conceptual copywriter, Atallah wrote a blog entitled Our Man in Beirut which earned him notoriety amongst the Lebanese community both in Lebanon and abroad.[8][7] His essays unpacking the difficulties of navigating Lebanese culture while having grown up abroad drew him both fans and detractors. The blog's success led to a publishing deal with Turning Point books,[9] and the print version was released in December 2011 in Beirut, with book signings at Waterstones[10] in London and at Livre Paris[11]
From 2011 to 2017, Atallah worked at as Head of Media at a creative agency focused on culture from the Middle East, across music, publishing and film.[12][13] There, he launched the career[14] of the prominent Lebanese blues rock revival duo, The Wanton Bishops, through his role as their manager.[15] He has also worked with Egyptian electro-singer and producer Bosaina, Montreal indie band Wake Island,[16][17] and krautrock band Lumi.
Since 2018, he has been focused on creative projects in film and television as a producer and screenwriter, as well as continuing to write creative non-fiction and fiction.[18] He is represented by Aoife Rice at United Agents.[19]
Last Floor Productions
[edit]In late 2019, he co-founded Last Floor Productions with two longtime friends, Mashrou' Leila band member and composer Firas Abou Fakher and writer and Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts screenwriting professor Daniel Habib.[20] Last Floor Productions is focused on the creation of genre film & television, centered on telling stories about Arabs around the world.[21] The company's first production, 10-episode psychological thriller Al Shak (Doubt),[22] was written, shot and released entirely during the early phase of the coronavirus lockdown of 2020.[23] It was produced as a Shahid Original for the leading streaming service launched by MBC Group. Later in 2020, Last Floor Productions released a second TV Series for Shahid, an 8-episode action comedy entitled Fixer.[24] The company has also created short documentaries for Apple[25] and the Victoria & Albert Museum.[26]
GQ Middle East
[edit]From 2018 to 2022, Atallah was a contributor for GQ Middle East.[27] He has profiled leading Arab creatives like filmmaker Nadine Labaki, Moroccan rapper Issam, Syrian poet Adunis, Lebanese indie band Mashrou' Leila, pop star Ragheb Alama, actors Dali Benssalah, Bassel Khaiat & Ahmed Malek, Italian pop star Mahmood, artists Saint Hoax, Eli Rezkallah & Malak Mattar, and many more. He has also written essays, such as his account of the August 4th 2020 explosion in Beirut entitled "Inside Beirut's Broken Heart".[28]
Esquire Middle East
[edit]In August 2022, Atallah was appointed Editor-in-Chief of Esquire Middle East by ITP Media Group.[29]
Other work
[edit]Atallah has also written for various publications, including The Guardian,[30] GQ Magazine,[31] Time Out, Brownbook,[32] Little White Lies, Monocle and L'Orient-Le Jour.
He is also the co-host of the Bootleg Magic podcast with Alya Mooro and a regular guest on the BBC World Service's The Arts Hour with Nikki Bedi.
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | RKOD | No | No | Executive | |
| 2020 | Aziza | No | Yes | Yes | short documentary |
| Charmland | No | Yes | Yes | documentary | |
| Doubt | No | Yes | Executive | also co-creator, 10 episodes | |
| Fixer | No | No | Executive | 8 episodes | |
| Apple: Illuminating Creativity Series | No | Yes | Executive | ||
| 2021 | V&A: Jameel Prize 6 From Poetry to Politics | No | Yes | Executive | short documentary |
| 2022 | It Gets Darker | No | No | Executive | short film |
Books
[edit]- A Lost Summer: Postcards From Lebanon (Contributor) (Saqi Books, 2008) ISBN 978-0863566868
- Our Man in Beirut (Turning Point Books, 2011) ISBN 978-9953021102
- Share This Book (Contributor) (SHARE Foundation, 2013) [33]
- Beyrouth, Chroniques et détours by Mashallah News and AMI Collective (Foreword) (Tamyras Éditions, 2014) ISBN 9782360860517[34]
- Haramacy: A collection of essays prescribed by voices from the Middle East, South Asia and the diaspora (Contributor) (Unbound Books, 2022)[35] ISBN 978-1800181328
Personal life
[edit]Atallah is married to award-winning Lebanese fashion designer Nour Hage.[36] The couple have been together since 2013.
References
[edit]- ^ Interview in BMI Voyager Magazine http://www.nasriatallah.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Nasri_Atallah_BMI_Voyager.jpg Archived 6 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Nasri Atallah | United Agents". www.unitedagents.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ Arab Media Forum – Samir Atallah http://www.arabmediaforum.ae/en/speakers/2013/speaker/samir-atallah-13.aspx
- ^ "President Sleiman awarded a medal of appreciation to journalist Samir Atallah". Presidency of the Republic of Lebanon. 11 June 2013. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- ^ "American University of Beirut's Blogger Community on the Rise | Beirut News Network". Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- ^ An Alternative Asset: A review of Nasri Atallah's 'Our Man in Beirut' http://thedisgraceofgod.blogspot.fr/2012/01/alternative-asset-review-of-nasri.html
- ^ a b "AltCity – Nasri Atallah". Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- ^ CV on LinkedIn http://uk.linkedin.com/in/nasriatallah
- ^ Popular Beirut Blogger Releases Book http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Dec-03/155947-popular-beirut-blogger-releases-book.ashx
- ^ Waterstones https://www.facebook.com/ourmaninbeirut/posts/316940858348166
- ^ Le Liban au Salon Du Livre Paris http://www.antoineonline.com/Article.aspx?id=37 Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Lebanon Goes Digital By Alex Young | The Media Line | http://www.themedialine.org/news/lebanon-goes-digital/
- ^ Keeward Team http://keeward.com/keeward-team Archived 21 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Wanton Bishops | La Boule Noire | Paris, retrieved 12 July 2023
- ^ The Wanton Bishops Story on Keeward http://keeward.com/the-wanton-bishops/ Archived 27 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Wake Island on Keeward http://keeward.com/portfolio/wake-island/
- ^ Meeting Wake Island | With Nasri Atallah, retrieved 12 July 2023
- ^ "- YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
- ^ Nasri Atallah | United Agents | https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/nasri-atallah-1 Archived 15 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Un trio libanais qui veut innover sur le petit écran". L'Orient-Le Jour. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
- ^ Badih, Samia (30 June 2020). "'Everything happened through a screen': How three friends created an entire TV show while housebound". The National. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
- ^ Doubt (TV Series 2020– ) - Ratings - IMDb, retrieved 12 July 2023
- ^ The Homemade Music of 'Al Shak': From Soundtrack to Spotify Playlis
- ^ Fixer IMDb page
- ^ Staff Reporter (12 May 2021). "Last Floor Productions partners with Shahid & Apple in India". BroadcastPro ME. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
- ^ "Upstream - Innovator Spotlight #1 – Last Floor Productions". Retrieved 12 July 2023.
- ^ GQ Middle East Nasri Atallah author page https://www.gqmiddleeast.com/author/nasri-atallah
- ^ Inside Beirut's Broken Heart | https://www.gqmiddleeast.com/Beirut-explosion-Inside-Beiruts-Broken-Heart
- ^ Nasri Atallah appointed as Editor-in-Chief of Esquire Middle East | https://www.itp.com/press-rooms/nasri-atallah-appointed-editor-chief-esquire-middle-east
- ^ Atallah, Nasri (4 January 2016). "An insider's cultural guide to Beirut: 'a beautiful, rowdy, intoxicated mess'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
- ^ GQ India https://twitter.com/aratiGQ/status/308859612029935616
- ^ Brownbook Magazine | The Falafel Issue Contributors | http://brownbook.me/the-falafel-issue/
- ^ SHARE Foundation | Publications | http://www.shareconference.net/en/news/share-book Archived 3 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ""Beyrouth, chroniques et détours"". RFI. 25 April 2014.
- ^ Balram, Dhruva; Joshi, Tara (25 November 2023). Haramacy. Unbound. ISBN 978-1-80018-132-8.
- ^ Less is More | A Magazine (Aishti) by Pip Usher http://blog.aishti.com/24819-2/
