Born in Dubai, Mahdi Fleifel lives and works between Denmark, England and Greece. A graduate of the UK's National Film & Television School, he studied Fiction Directing under Stephen Frears and Pawel Pawlikowski. In 2010 he founded the London based production company Nakba FilmWorks with Irish producer Patrick Campbell. Fleifel's critically acclaimed debut feature, A WORLD NOT OURS, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and received over 30 awards, including the Berlinale Peace Prize, and the Edinburgh, Yamagata and DOC:NYC Grand Jury Prizes. He was named Best New Nordic Voice at Nordisk Panorama, and received the New Talent Award at CPH:DOX in 2013. In 2016 Fleifel won a Silver Bear for A MAN RETURNED. His follow up, A DROWNING MAN, was selected in the Official Competition at Cannes, and was nominated for a BAFTA. His last film, I SIGNED THE PETITION, won Best Documentary Short at IDFA and was nominated for the 2018 European Film Awards.

Patrick’s most recent documentary film, LOOK AWAY, LOOK AWAY, won the 2021 Oxford Film Festival Audience Choice Awards for Best Film and Best Documentary. His previous film, THE INVISIBLE PATIENTS, had its national PBS broadcast premiere on AMERICA REFRAMED in 2018. The film also screened at the Heartland, Cucalorus, Chicago International Social Change and Indy Film Festivals, as well as at universities and conferences on bio-ethics and healthcare. Patrick lives in Pass Christian, Mississippi.