Sherif Nakhla

Sherif is Egyptian, born in Boston and a citizen of the United States. After having lived the first ten years of his life in Boston, he moved to Cairo, Egypt with his family. He graduated with a BA in theater and a BA in Mass Communication from American University in Cairo, Egypt.

Having experienced two different cultures and lifestyles, Sherif became fascinated by the Western/Arab cultural divide and misunderstandings that potentially arise from such a divide. Before becoming a Sauvé Fellow, Sherif took the role of director, writer, producer and music composer to make a short movie with the topic of a Muslim-Christian relationship, which constitutes a common problem that is intentionally not discussed in Cairo. One of his referees wrote: “this film was a project from the heart which gathered together many young people with different experience and of various faiths, to tackle the creation of a story of vital social content.

At the occasion of the 2015 Arabian Sights Film Festival in Washington DC, Sherif released a documentary titled Les petits chats. The ‘rockumentary’, which focuses on the 2009 reunion of the legendary 60s Egyptian cover band Les petits chats, showcases the cultural phenomenon and the hope, enthusiasm and ambition of the 60s Egyptian youth. For more information on the movie and to see the trailer, click here. In the near future, Sherif will be kept busy filming his first Arabic feature film. Having already completed writing the script, Sherif will be teaming up with high profile actors to bring this exciting project to life (on camera).

As a Sauvé Fellow, Sherif directed, filmed and edited “Transition & Leadership”: A McConnell Foundation film on Santropol Roulant, a local non-profit organization that promotes food security and community building. Sherif filmed and edited a video record of the year at Sauvé: the Virtual tour of Sauvé House.  He also developed a feature length film script and completed preparations for filming in Egypt.