PEDRO HASROUNY
بيدرو حصروني

Hello! I'm a film director, screenwriter, and photographer from Ain Ebel, a picturesque village in southern Lebanon. My first name (unusual back home) was suggested by a relative who had just returned from Brazil, where part of my extended family had emigrated decades earlier. Years later, I found myself living in Portugal, where the name suddenly felt common.

After earning a bachelor's degree in audiovisual arts from Al Kafaat University in Beirut, I worked as an art director in film and advertising before shifting my focus to photography and filmmaking. As a photographer, I’ve shot for Architectural Digest, Marie Claire Arabia, renowned Arab designers (Tony Ward, Roni Helou, Honayda, Lustro Jewellery, Himo), and the pop culture magazine Jdeed.

Autostrade Beirut (2021), my first independent short, premiered at Raindance in 2021 and led to an Erasmus Mundus scholarship for a two-year MFA in Film Directing through the KinoEyes program.

As part of that program, I directed my graduation film, A Mother Goes to the Beach (2024), despite not speaking Portuguese at the time (I’m getting there). I also handled the production design, something I often do on my projects. The film received multiple awards, including Best Short Film at Sophia Estudante 2024 (Portuguese Academy of Cinema) and Best National Student Short at the 30th Caminhos do Cinema Português. It was also screened at festivals such as the Rio de Janeiro International Short Film Festival (Festival Curta Cinema), IndieLisboa, the São Paulo International Short Film Festival, Concorto (Italy), and the Beijing International Short Film Festival.

I’m drawn to strong visual composition and intimate, personal themes, often inspired by lived experience. My creative work tends to explore identity and the expectations we carry. I’m currently developing new projects between Portugal and Lebanon while pursuing a PhD in Media Arts and Communication at FilmEU European University (CICANT), funded by an FCT research grant. My research focuses on gender representation and social norms in the Middle East.