Nasri Atallah

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Nasri Atallah
Atallah in 2013
Born
Nasri Atallah

(1982-11-12) 12 November 1982 (age 41)
London, England
NationalityBritish and Lebanese
Education
Occupation(s)Editor-in-Chief, Esquire Middle East
Writer
Producer
Notable work
Spouse
​
(m. 2015)​
Websitenasriatallah.com

Nasri Atallah (born 12 November 1982)[1] is a British-Lebanese author, award-winning producer, television host[2] and media entrepreneur. He is the former Editor-in-Chief of Esquire Middle East, one of the co-founders of Last Floor Productions and a former contributing writer at GQ Middle East.

Biography[edit]

Nasri Atallah was born and grew up in London, United Kingdom, where he attended the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle. His parents, Samir Atallah and May Francis, are both British-Lebanese and were living in London at the time. His father, Samir Atallah, is a prominent Arab author, journalist and thinker, and the winner of many awards for his decades of contribution to Arab literature.[3][4]

Atallah moved to Beirut for the first time in 1997, finished school and read politics at the American University of Beirut.[5] He holds a Masters in International politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies,[6] where he completed a dissertation on the Deterritorialization of Identity Through Transnational Media.

Career[edit]

Atallah started is career at the United Nations Development Programme, then moved into energy research, later joining a wealth management firm[7] before moving into advertising, content and production in 2009.

During a brief stint at J. Walter Thompson as a conceptual copywriter, Atallah wrote a blog entitled Our Man in Beirut which earned him notoriety amongst the Lebanese community both in Lebanon and abroad.[8][7] His essays unpacking the difficulties of navigating Lebanese culture while having grown up abroad drew him both fans and detractors. The blog's success led to a publishing deal with Turning Point books,[9] and the print version was released in December 2011 in Beirut, with book signings at Waterstones[10] in London and at Livre Paris[11]

From 2011 to 2017, Atallah worked at as Head of Media at a creative agency focused on culture from the Middle East, across music, publishing and film.[12][13] There, he launched the career[14] of the prominent Lebanese blues rock revival duo, The Wanton Bishops, through his role as their manager.[15] He has also worked with Egyptian electro-singer and producer Bosaina, Montreal indie band Wake Island,[16][17] and krautrock band Lumi.

Since 2018, he has been focused on creative projects in film and television as a producer and screenwriter, as well as continuing to write creative non-fiction and fiction.[18] He is represented by Aoife Rice at United Agents.[19]

Last Floor Productions[edit]

In late 2019, he co-founded Last Floor Productions with two longtime friends, Mashrou' Leila band member and composer Firas Abou Fakher and writer and Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts screenwriting professor Daniel Habib.[20] Last Floor Productions is focused on the creation of genre film & television, centered on telling stories about Arabs around the world.[21] The company's first production, 10-episode psychological thriller Al Shak (Doubt),[22] was written, shot and released entirely during the early phase of the coronavirus lockdown of 2020.[23] It was produced as a Shahid Original for the leading streaming service launched by MBC Group. Later in 2020, Last Floor Productions released a second TV Series for Shahid, an 8-episode action comedy entitled Fixer.[24] The company has also created short documentaries for Apple[25] and the Victoria & Albert Museum.[26]

GQ Middle East[edit]

From 2018 to 2022, Atallah was a contributor for GQ Middle East.[27] He has profiled leading Arab creatives like filmmaker Nadine Labaki, Moroccan rapper Issam, Syrian poet Adunis, Lebanese indie band Mashrou' Leila, pop star Ragheb Alama, actors Dali Benssalah, Bassel Khaiat & Ahmed Malek, Italian pop star Mahmood, artists Saint Hoax, Eli Rezkallah & Malak Mattar, and many more. He has also written essays, such as his account of the August 4th 2020 explosion in Beirut entitled "Inside Beirut's Broken Heart".[28]

Esquire Middle East[edit]

In August 2022, Atallah was appointed Editor-in-Chief of Esquire Middle East by ITP Media Group.[29]

Other work[edit]

Atallah has also written for various publications, including The Guardian,[30] GQ Magazine,[31] Time Out, Brownbook,[32] Little White Lies, Monocle and L'Orient-Le Jour.

He is also the co-host of the Bootleg Magic podcast with Alya Mooro and a regular guest on the BBC World Service's The Arts Hour with Nikki Bedi.

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
2015 RKOD No No Executive
2020 Aziza No Yes Yes short documentary
Charmland No Yes Yes documentary
Doubt No Yes Executive also co-creator, 10 episodes
Fixer No No Executive 8 episodes
Apple: Illuminating Creativity Series No Yes Executive
2021 V&A: Jameel Prize 6 From Poetry to Politics No Yes Executive short documentary
2022 It Gets Darker No No Executive short film

Books[edit]

  • A Lost Summer: Postcards From Lebanon (Contributor) (Saqi Books, 2008) ISBN 978-0863566868
  • Our Man in Beirut (Turning Point Books, 2011) ISBN 978-9953021102
  • Share This Book (Contributor) (SHARE Foundation, 2013) [33]
  • Beyrouth, Chroniques et détours by Mashallah News and AMI Collective (Foreword) (Tamyras Éditions, 2014) ISBN 9782360860517[34]
  • Haramacy: A collection of essays prescribed by voices from the Middle East, South Asia and the diaspora (Contributor) (Unbound Books, 2022)[35] ISBN 978-1800181328

Personal life[edit]

Atallah is married to award-winning Lebanese fashion designer Nour Hage.[36] The couple have been together since 2013.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Interview in BMI Voyager Magazine http://www.nasriatallah.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Nasri_Atallah_BMI_Voyager.jpg Archived 6 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Nasri Atallah | United Agents". www.unitedagents.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  3. ^ Arab Media Forum – Samir Atallah http://www.arabmediaforum.ae/en/speakers/2013/speaker/samir-atallah-13.aspx
  4. ^ "President Sleiman awarded a medal of appreciation to journalist Samir Atallah". Presidency of the Republic of Lebanon. 11 June 2013. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  5. ^ "American University of Beirut's Blogger Community on the Rise | Beirut News Network". Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  6. ^ An Alternative Asset: A review of Nasri Atallah's 'Our Man in Beirut' http://thedisgraceofgod.blogspot.fr/2012/01/alternative-asset-review-of-nasri.html
  7. ^ a b "AltCity – Nasri Atallah". Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  8. ^ CV on LinkedIn http://uk.linkedin.com/in/nasriatallah
  9. ^ Popular Beirut Blogger Releases Book http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Dec-03/155947-popular-beirut-blogger-releases-book.ashx
  10. ^ Waterstones https://www.facebook.com/ourmaninbeirut/posts/316940858348166
  11. ^ Le Liban au Salon Du Livre Paris http://www.antoineonline.com/Article.aspx?id=37 Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Lebanon Goes Digital By Alex Young | The Media Line | http://www.themedialine.org/news/lebanon-goes-digital/
  13. ^ Keeward Team http://keeward.com/keeward-team Archived 21 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ The Wanton Bishops | La Boule Noire | Paris, retrieved 12 July 2023
  15. ^ The Wanton Bishops Story on Keeward http://keeward.com/the-wanton-bishops/ Archived 27 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ Wake Island on Keeward http://keeward.com/portfolio/wake-island/
  17. ^ Meeting Wake Island | With Nasri Atallah, retrieved 12 July 2023
  18. ^ "- YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  19. ^ Nasri Atallah | United Agents | https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/nasri-atallah-1 Archived 15 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ "Un trio libanais qui veut innover sur le petit écran". L'Orient-Le Jour. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  21. ^ Badih, Samia (30 June 2020). "'Everything happened through a screen': How three friends created an entire TV show while housebound". The National. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  22. ^ Doubt (TV Series 2020– ) - Ratings - IMDb, retrieved 12 July 2023
  23. ^ The Homemade Music of 'Al Shak': From Soundtrack to Spotify Playlis
  24. ^ Fixer IMDb page
  25. ^ Staff Reporter (12 May 2021). "Last Floor Productions partners with Shahid & Apple in India". BroadcastPro ME. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  26. ^ "Upstream - Innovator Spotlight #1 – Last Floor Productions". Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  27. ^ GQ Middle East Nasri Atallah author page https://www.gqmiddleeast.com/author/nasri-atallah
  28. ^ Inside Beirut's Broken Heart | https://www.gqmiddleeast.com/Beirut-explosion-Inside-Beiruts-Broken-Heart
  29. ^ Nasri Atallah appointed as Editor-in-Chief of Esquire Middle East | https://www.itp.com/press-rooms/nasri-atallah-appointed-editor-chief-esquire-middle-east
  30. ^ Atallah, Nasri (4 January 2016). "An insider's cultural guide to Beirut: 'a beautiful, rowdy, intoxicated mess'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  31. ^ GQ India https://twitter.com/aratiGQ/status/308859612029935616
  32. ^ Brownbook Magazine | The Falafel Issue Contributors | http://brownbook.me/the-falafel-issue/
  33. ^ SHARE Foundation | Publications | http://www.shareconference.net/en/news/share-book Archived 3 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  34. ^ ""Beyrouth, chroniques et détours"". RFI. 25 April 2014.
  35. ^ Balram, Dhruva; Joshi, Tara (25 November 2023). Haramacy. Unbound. ISBN 978-1-80018-132-8.
  36. ^ Less is More | A Magazine (Aishti) by Pip Usher http://blog.aishti.com/24819-2/

External links[edit]

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