Mohamed El Zayat is an internationally acclaimed director with a background that bridges music, film, and commercial storytelling. He was educated at a French Catholic school in Egypt, completed high school in Tunisia, and later returned to Egypt for university. His early passion for music led him to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied jazz performance. He continues to play with the same band he formed over twenty years ago.

In his twenties, Zayat began his career in advertising in Egypt, rising to become Creative Director at BBDO and later McCann Worldgroup. In 2007, he left the industry to pursue an MFA in directing at the New York Film Academy.

Zayat started directing commercials in 2012 and went on to become one of the most awarded directors in the Middle East. He won the D&AD Yellow Pencil for direction in advertising in 2023. From 2022 to 2024, he was featured on Director’s Library as one of the most prominent working directors globally and has been Vimeo staff picked twice.

Zayat just finished shooting his first feature film "In the name of Galeela" and is currently in the post production process.