SAE Amman Staff
Kieran is an award-winning film director, and screenwriter whose films have screened at over 130 international film festivals at last count. His debut feature film Puppy was acquired by Netflix for distribution in the US. It was subsequently sold to edgy distributors Dokument Films, and will soon be available for digital download on iTunes and Amazon. Puppy was released theatrically in New Zealand and on DVD In Australia and was also broadcast on cable TV in both countries.
Kieran was commissioned to write the thriller Feed for cult director Brett Leonard (Lawnmower Man, Virtuosity). It sold to dozens of countries worldwide and was released in cinemas in the UK. Kieran’s screenplays have been competitively selected for the prestigious Rotterdam Cinemart Film Market, the Binger Filmlab, and IFP No Borders.
Kieran holds post-graduate certification in Film Directing from the Amsterdam School of the Arts and is currently completing his MA thesis and project in creating original web TV content for online distribution.
Kieran also has eleven years of business management experience, ranging from commercial and industrial property sales for one of the world’s largest brokers, to raising capital for unlisted property trusts and syndicates. He was born in Ireland and he has traveled widely. He has lived for extended periods in the UK, New Zealand, Australia, the USA, France, and The Netherlands. http://www.kierangalvin.com
Academic Manager
Sarab has over ten years experience working with youth and developing educational programs.
She holds a Human Resource Management degree. In her role as a Human Resource Advisor she volunteered to teach Refugee and Immigrant youth and adults how to write an effective CV and developed their interview skills. Through this work she realized that she wanted to pursue a Masters in Education. She earned her Masters in Education - Curriculum Teaching and Learning -from University of Manitoba in 2007.
While Sarab was completing her Masters degree she was a Program Manager for a Canadian government funded program to help integrate refugee youth into the Canadian workforce.
Sarab volunteers for the United Nations Association and participates as a Board member. She is also a committee advisor for United Against Racism and contributes ideas around how to engage youth in anti-racist programs worldwide.
Sarab was born and raised in Canada. She was exposed to the Jordanian culture every summer because her parents are from Jordan.
Operations Manager
Ibrahim originates from Chechnya and holds a certificate in TV Arts. He has a 12 year experience in a variety of the best Jordanian production companies like ATV, PPC, AMMAN SOUND, ABU LUGHUD STUDIOS, LURIANA STUDIOS, covering all the related criteria from post production, documentaries, music recording, radio production managing, television music library managing, live TV shows and news sound engineering.
Ibrahim was involved with many over seas film productions that took place in Jordan like the German film JOURNEY TO KAFERSTAN, local theaters, and television mini series that gave him the overall knowledge of the Jordanian media scene. He is an active Member of the Jordanian Syndicate of Arts since March 2003.
In his capacity as Operations Manager at SAE Amman Ibrahim is responsible for the day to day management of facilities, studios, labs, resources and equipment and managing our team of supervisors who help students with technical problems.
Manager - Student Counselors
Khaled has over 5 years experience in Education Sales & Marketing. He started working with Al Quds College Training Center in 2004 after he earned his Bachelor Degree from ASU (Applied Science University).
Khaled was born in Kuwait but was raised in Jordan. His passion for studios and cameras drove him to take several courses in Photography, leading him to work at SAE Amman as a Student Counselor in 2007. He was promoted to Student Counselor Manager in 2009.
Khaled is here to provide every potential student a comfortable and pleasant experience at SAE and he has a wealth of knowledge about all the courses we provide. Khaled also handles corporate sales and designing customised courses for industry.
Business Development Manager
Wael is a Marketing and Communications professional with a Bachelors Degree in Marketing from the Applied Science University.
Since graduating he has accumulated over 12 years of professional industry experience across diverse sectors, including: hospitality, education, sports, real estate, airlines, events management, museums and the automobile industry.
His experience also includes Public Relations (Crisis Management, Corporate Communications and Media Relations), business development and events and brand management.
During his stay in Qatar Wael regularly appeared on TV reporting weekly summaries from Doha Securities Market for Dubai Business Channel.
Head Of Animation
Muhannad has had several years of experience working as a 3D artist for companies such as Nassons Entertainment Studios, Rubicon, and many freelance assignments.
Muhannad’s work has included TV series, video games, television commercials, and realistic characters and objects for press.
Snr Animation Lecturer
Specialisations : Hand drawing & Illustrating , Concept Designing , Traditional 2D Animating & 3D artwork executing .
Sami is a 2D artist who learned traditional 2D animation in Jordan and has been working in this field since 1995, He is one of the few people in Jordan who can execute 2D traditional artwork & 3D artwork professionally.
Sami created 2D animation artworks for a lot of children songs that were broadcast internationally on TV. He also participated in lots of commercials that were created by some of the leading companies in the region.
Sami played a big role in building & developing animation departments for a couple of companies in the country to be among the top studios in this industry.
Ashraf , Came from 3D animation production background, he has been working for years in Big companies such as Rubicon Animation studios, through that tie he had been working in famous Projects as Pink panthers and Pals and Ben & Izzy series, staring Lucie Lue and others, He also did great freelance projects in the all field of CG and Animation
The first Autodesk Certified Trainer in 3Ds Max and Maya, Rami is a graduate of Information Technology studies, and has taught 3Ds Max to over 500 students in 9 years.
He lectured for two years at the European Information Technology Center and worked at Rubicon for over two years.
In 2005 Rami began teaching at Al Quds College as an animation lecturer for 3D Max and Maya softwares and has also conducted courses for interior and exterior architectural design.
Rami has been a key component to many local and international architectural projects including the full 3D modeling, layout and design of our very own SAE Institute, Amman.
Animation Lecturer
Snr Audio Lecturer
Hany originates from Egypt and has over 12 years experience in the audio industry, with special focus and skills in studio production. Over the years Hany has worked in many of the professional studios in Egypt including: Mirage Records, M1 Studio, El Arabi Studio.
In these studios Hany worked as a recording and mixing engineer on projects for artists such as: Mohamed Mounir (Embareh kan omry eshreen), Hakim (Elyomeen dool alboum, kolo yorkos and Tigi Tigi).
Hany is a graduate of SAE Institute and joined the team at SAE Institute in Amman in 2008.
Audio Lecturer
Diederick van Benthem a.k.a. “Ricky” joined our team as audio lecturer. Ricky completed his Audio Engineering Diploma and BA (Honors) Recording Arts at both SAE Rotterdam and SAE Byron Bay, Australia.
He worked at Studios 301, Sydney. Back in Holland he worked as a product specialist in recording equipment and software. At the same time Ricky ran his own professional music production business responsible for several big media projects for clients such as Dutch Tax Administration and All Seas.
Ricky joined SAE Amman in 2007 when the institute opened.
Audio Engineering Lecturer
Ayman is a multi-award winning music industry professional. He received a BA in Physics in 1987 and a BA in Music Science "Composing" in 2002 and a Master Degree in Musicology "Modern Composing Tools" in 2008.
He has several years of experience in Audio Engineering through his work as a composer and arranger. He produced a lot of recordings for Arab and Jordanian pop stars such as Mohammad Abdo, Omar Al Abdallat, Diana Karazon.
In the field of Post Production, he designed the soundtrack for a lot of Arabic television series such as "Al Fateen", "Laila".
Acting Head -audio Department
Shane has been working in the Audio Industry for the last 14 years. He specializes in EMP Production/ Post Production and Commercial Recording.
Shane moved to Singapore in 1993 to begin his music career. During this time he graduated from SAE Singapore completing his Audio Engineering Diploma.
He has produced for many local artists in Sri Lanka. He also has produced many commercials for Coca Cola, Pepsi, Cathay Pacific Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines, HSBC, Dialog GSM Network, and various insurance companies.
Shane moved to Kuwait in 2001 to work at Al Nazaer Recording Studio. He dubbed many Discovery Channel programs into Arabic. He also produced a television commercial for the National Bank Of Kuwait (NBK).
Shane joined SAE Kuwait as an Audio Lecturer and later became the Head of Audio there before transferring to Amman.
Audio Engineering Lecturer
Omar majored in Electroacoustics from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. He is also certified in ProTools 8HD from Alchemea College of Audio Engineering, London.
Omar was born and raised in Jordan, before spending his later years in Montreal, Quebec, as well as Doha, Qatar.
Apart from his DJ career in Canada and Jordan, Omar has significant experience in live sound design, Music Production as well as Post – Production.
Snr. Film Lecturer
Specialisations: Directing, Film Language & Theory
Tove is an artist and filmmaker with a Master of Fine Arts from the Paris Art Academy. Over the past ten years her work has been widely exhibited in Europe, Asia and Australia. She has been Artist in Residence in the City of Marseille Art studio program and she has participated in a Post Graduate program called The Invisible College.
In 2002 she started a work called Chatroom that includes photo romances, objects and films. Chatroom 01 won the Imagination Award at the Swiss Film Festival VIPER in 2004.
She is originally from Sweden but has lived in France, Australia and Jordan for the last 14 years. After teaching at the University of Western Australia, she joined SAE Perth and she has been teaching at SAE Amman since the opening in 2007.
Film Lecturer
Specialisations: Animation & Film Director, Screenwriter, Editor and Compositor.
Marwan has led and also been involved in various successful animations, TV commercials, and film projects. His diverse skills have enabled him to work in many different sectors of the Digital Media Industry. For more than ten years he has worked in various TV channels and production houses around the region including Rubicon.
Film Lecturer
Portuguese born Frederico holds a BA degree in Filmmaking from the School of Arts (UCP), and a Masters in Fine Arts
degree in Filmmaking from the New York Film Academy at Universal Studios.
He’s taught film making workshops at the Portuguese University School of Arts, and developed course structures and curricula.
Frederico has written, produced and directed award-winning short films and is developing a feature film.
He has worked primarily as a cinematographer for music videos, commercials and films, shooting many projects on the Red One.
See: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2830036/
US born Eric has more than 20 years experience as a film producer and director, field producer, and Head of Production and Operations, spanning network documentaries, reality-themed entertainment and production assignments for clients including Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, A&E, the History Channel, National Geographic, Warner Bros, Universal Studios and many others.
Eric holds a BA in Professional Photography & Motion Pictures. He majored in Communication at City University New York and also completed the Motion Picture and Television Extension Program at the University of California.
See: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0302787/
Film Lecturer
Ayman studied Media Techniques at Loughborough, England, and has more than 11 years experience at ART satellite station.
He has been responsible for a wide range of affiliate live / recorded productions OB,EFP,ENG, infomercials, aerial photography, drama, commercials, VNR's and more.
His credits include FIFA World Cup 2006 Germany, Baptism VNR-Manhattan Bureau.
Ayman is an expert cameraman and lighting techician.
Acting Head - Graphic Design & Multimedia
Ahmad Qatato has over nine years of experience in the graphic design world, specializing in the creation of logos and corporate identity packages, printed collateral and websites - from concept to photography to copywriting, and web development and printing.
Ahmad has worked in various fields including e-learning and 2D Animation, Publishing and Media, Advertising and Branding in Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Oman. Prior to taking up his position at SAE Ahmad was responsible for layout and design of Nox Magazine.
Multimedia Lecturer
Noor is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, School of the Arts in Qatar.
She holds a BFA in Visual Communication Design with a major in Interactive Design.
She was awarded an undergraduate research grant by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) to research Arabic Typography. This research was mentored by Thomas Milo and Mirjam Sommers of Decotype Amsterdam.
She was also the recipient of four Dean's scholarships and two poster design awards during her studies.
She's done several international internships including the Index Awards workshop in Copenhagen, as well as a printing press and publishing house. Upon graduating she worked as a Graphic Designer at an in-house design department for Barwa Real Estate, Doha.
Academic Administration Officers
Farah is Indonesian / Syrian brought up in Chicago, Illinois. She came to Amman in 1994 and later obtained a Diploma in Graphic Design from Al Quds College. She also completed a certificate course in Advanced 3DS Max.
Together with Dina Sweilem, Farah is an Academic Administration Officer responsible for managing and monitoring student attendance, academic performance, transcripts, exams and Ministry of Higher Education requirements. She is also a full time evening Diploma Film Making student.
Academic Administrator
Dina holds a bachelors degree in Business Administration from Al-Ahliyya Amman University. She was. born and raised in Amman,Jordan. Together with Farah Turjuman, Dina is responsible for the smooth running of class timetables, exams, assessments, transcripts and maintaining academic records.
Student Counselor
Anas Al-Ramahi is one of us! He enrolled in 2008 and graduated in 2009, top of his Audio Engineering class!
Anas was born and raised in Jordan, Amman. His passion for music drove him where he is today. His talents and love for guitar playing, recording and mixing has made him decide to continue at SAE International in helping students in following their passion after his graduation!
While studying at SAE Amman, instructors as well as management felt because of Anas's friendliness and wonderful people skills he was recruited as a customer service representative and was later promoted as guidance counselor after graduating.
Anas is not only a graduate of SAE International, but a friend who is always here to lend a helping hand!
Student Counselor
Noor possesses an English Translation Degree from ASU (Applied Science University). She has over three years experience working within Educational Industry.
Within her three years of work experience she has mastered several positions such as Customer Service officer, Academic Coordinator, Student Counselor and Sales Representative
Her Passion for student advocacy has enriched her future growth as a professional at SAE Amman. She enjoys working with students in all capacities and strives to provide them with a rich learning environment
Noor was born in UAE - Abu Dhabi and has lived in Amman for the past nine years. She continues to expand her professional development focused on education and student empowerment.
Customer Service Receptionist
Ahmad Hijjawi was born in U.A.E. He has been dedicating his life to the music field. He can often be found playing DJ sets around Amman and occasionally in Lebanon.
He graduated from SAE Amman with a certificate of Electronic Music Production (E.M.P) in 2008.
As a Customer Service Receptionist Ahmad is often the first friendly face you will see when you visit the campus. Always happy to help and go the extra mile, and responsible for keeping a good vibe and good tunes playing throughout the campus, he's like the SAE mascot.
It Supervisor
Rami holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Management Information Systems and is specialized in both Macintosh and Windows operating systems.
Previously Rami served as a System Administrator Team Leader in an international animation and multimedia company where he performed routine audits of systems and software for both Mac and PC Identifying potential issues along with monitoring and managing sytem resources, including CPU usage, disk usage, resolving performance problems; maintaining system documentation and logs; assisting in troubleshooting, diagnosing problems and maintaining network security authentication and application security.
Supervisor
Khaldoun is a graduate of SAE Institute Amman with hands on experience in audio related software like Pro Tools, Logic and Reason. He has experience in live sound, choirs and recording and editing for studio audio production.
Supervisor
Anas has trained with numerous Jordanian production companies and has extensive freelance experience on promotional, industrial, medical and independent video projects.
Supervisor
Jamal is a graduate of SAE Institute Amman filmmaking program, holding diverse film production skills, software expertise and excellent knowledge about post-production processes. Jamal participated in many entertainment projects with Toyoor al Janeh channel.
Audio Supervisor
Hussam graduated as an audio engineer from SAE Jordan where I got my experience in studio recording and music editing and worked on pro tools and logic audio software I did couple of post production for film student and after I finished from SAE I worked in a live PA company where I got some experience in live sound and live sound equipment.
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