Haifaa al-Mansour

Haifaa al-Mansour
Contributions	Director for Fear the Walking Dead and Tales of the Walking Dead
Occupation	Director Writer Producer
Born	September 10, 1974 Al Zulfi, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Age	50
Years Active	1997-Present
Gender	Female
Hair	Dark Brown
Ethnicity	Saudi Arabian-American

Haifaa al-Mansour is an American director, writer and producer.

Biography

Haifaa is the eighth (out of twelve) child of the poet Abdul Rahman Mansour, who introduced her to films by video, there being no movie theaters in Saudi Arabia between 1983 and 2018. One of her favorite actors was Jackie Chan. She is from Al Zulfi but grew up in Al-Hasa. Although her town was conservative, her father would go to a Blockbuster and grab any films that were available and bring them back home for their large family to enjoy together. Since cinema was banned in Saudi Arabia, Haifaa and her family received lots of judgment and threats from the people in her conservative town, but this never stopped her father from raising her and the other children to do things they felt passionate about. Although she grew up in a liberal family with non-traditional parents, her mother still had expectations for Haifaa to have a prestigious career. Her mother really wanted her to become a doctor, but that did not work out for Haifaa. She also tried becoming an engineer, but that also did not happen.

With her father's encouragement, she studied comparative literature at The American University in Cairo. Although she enjoyed studying literature, this was not for her. She experienced disappointment from her mother since she did not become a doctor, engineer, or professor, but ultimately her mother wanted her to be happy the same way she was. Haifaa's mother had a passion for singing, but was not allowed to be a singer growing up. Because she was non-traditional and a popular singer in the town, she would sing at gatherings and Haifaa would be so embarrassed. Over time, Haifaa learned that her mother was courageous and did not care what other people thought of her.  Her mother taught her defiance, integrity, and genuineness, and that is why Haifaa eventually chased her dream. After school, Haifaa worked at an oil company and taught English, but still nothing was satisfying her craving for something she was passionate about. She later completed a master's degree in Film Studies from University of Sydney, Australia. She never thought in a million years that she would become a filmmaker one day, but felt that she could do anything she set her mind to as long as she had the support of her family, especially her father. After the first short film she made with her family about a mysterious serial killer who wore a niqāb, Haifaa was very surprised that it was accepted by a film festival. For the first time in her life, she felt that people finally noticed her and listened to her.

Episodes Directed

Fear the Walking Dead

Season 8

• "Fighting Like You"

Tales of the Walking Dead

Season 1

• "Amy / Dr. Everett"

Other Works

• Mary Shelley
• Nappily Ever After
• The Perfect Candidate
• The Society
• Archive 81

External Links

• Haifaa al-Mansour at the Internet Movie Database
• Haifaa al-Mansour on Wikipedia
• Follow Haifaa al-Mansour on Instagram
• Follow Haifaa al-Mansour (@haifaamansour) on X

• Fear the Walking Dead
• Tales of the Walking Dead