Emad Asfoury
Emad Asfoury (born January 12, 1961) is an American director and cinematographer.
Early life
Asfoury was born in Port Said, Egypt. His family moved to Algeria in 1967, and moved to France in the mid-1970s, as Emad was influenced by European art, especially painting, film, and photography.
Career
1982 Asfoury finished a Bachelors Degree in Cinematography from Applied Arts Academy, Hellwan University in Cairo, after his family moved back to Egypt. Later in London, he joined the L.I. Film School, and The London Film Co-op. He produced and directed many experimental films in both 16mm and 35mm, notably a dark film called Metamorphoses. He was influenced by Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders from the German cinema, and Franois Truffaut from the French cinema, and Vittorio Storaro, Janusz Kaminski from world, and US cinema. In the meanwhile he had developed an appetite for documentary photography and had exhibitions during his stay in Egypt and London in several One-Man-Shows that were met with great enthusiasm from both critiques and the public. Asfoury had exhibited at The French Cultural Center in Cairo and the Goethe Institute also in Cairo. By late 1983 he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career in film and photography. He established L.A. Color Studio, in 1987, which produced many music videos, short educational, industrial, and documentaries.
Asfoury has developed a style that has been passed on to his understudies, and assistants, which depend on capturing the Decisive Moment without having to motorize the still camera. This means that as a cameraman he has to anticipate the subject's action and release the shutter thousandth of a second earlier than the desired moment. The end result is a perpetual feeling of action that's just happened or about to happen.
A significant worth mentioning project entitled Still In The Game made for Television deals with super aging population that remains active and at the top of their mastering career. This series deals with masters such as Professor Samuel Adler, who is one of the few American remaining composers that studied under the phenomenal Aaron Coppland. In this series Professor Adler talks about his daily routine, and his early years studying under his teacher Mr. Copland. On a different episode Director Asfoury examines the long career of Mr Robert De Cormier whose Career spans over seven decades encompassing WWII and the Civil Rights Movement, and being a musical director to both Harry Belfonte and Peter, Paul, and Mary. Mr. De Cormier has left an indelible mark on Emad as he shared his years behind enemy lines and his love for the arts, and nature.
He was Director of Photography on the film The C Gate that premiered in Cannes Film Festival in May 2013.
His most recent film is 'Duality' which he Directed and Produced. 'Duality is a short film about a man who is traveling between different universes against his will. It is narrated by Deepak Chopra, and features music by Moby and Basil Moore. The film is written by Sarah Lynn Dawson, and stars Jon Foo and Don Most.
Asfoury is also currently developing the feature version of Duality. which he is producing and Directing.
Filmography
- Duality
- Still in the Game
- Once Upon a Mime
- The C Gate