Kholoud Sawaf

Kholoud Sawaf is an award-winning theatre director and filmmaker. She was born and raised in Damascus, Syria, and has worked and trained in theatre and television in Syria, Lebanon, UAE, and the United States. Her work is focused on investing cultural depth, authenticity, and representation.

Recent credits include We Are Here (a short documentary produced by Crystal Bridges Museum for American Art), Theatre For One-Nairobi Edition (Octopus Theatricals, The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi, Nairobi Musical Theatre), The Suburbs (Thrown Stone Theatre Company) Much Ado About Nothing (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, T.Y.A), Vietgone, and 10,000 Balconies (TheatreSquared). 10,000 Balconies was awarded a $250,000 Building Bridges Grant from Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art. Kholoud is a recipient of the Creative Impact Award for Northwest Arkansas (2022) and an O’Neill National Directing Fellowship (2020-2021), a Drama League Fellow (2017), and an Associate Member with Stage Directors and Choreographers. Kholoud holds an MFA in Directing from the University of Arkansas and a B.A in Mass Communication from The American University of Sharjah.