Yemen

Al-Salami is Yemen’s first female filmmaker. She has made over 30 documentaries for various TV stations in France and Yemen, receiving worldwide acclaim.

Her first fiction film, I Am Nojoom, Age 10 and Divorced, won more than 30 awards and was screened at hundreds of festivals. She has authored La Rosée du Matin and The Tears of Sheba, an autobiography co-written with Charles Hoots about her upbringing in Yemen. Al-Salami served as Press and Cultural Counselor and Director of the Communication and Cultural Center at the Embassy of Yemen in Paris until 2011.

Her awards include: Knight of the Order of Arts & Letters (awarded by French Culture Minister Frédéric Mitterrand); Inspiring Woman (chosen by the Mosaic Foundation); Yo Dona Award for Professional Work; Medal of Honor, rank of Knight (Chevalier, awarded by French President Jacques Chirac); and the Prince Claus Award (Netherlands). Al-Salami is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.