M. Qahees
Cinema interior, dark and atmospheric
Director  ·  Screenwriter

MOHAMED

QAHEES

SY  ·  NL  ·  HKU Utrecht
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001 — Note

A Syrian-Dutch writer and director working across film and visual storytelling. The work is drawn from reality, shaped by human detail, silence, and emotional realism.

Mohamed Qahees began his career in Turkey as an assistant director before moving into directing television programs and short films. His films are quiet portraits of fragile characters, internal conflict, and intimate human experiences.

— M. Q.

Index 002 — Selected Works

Four films,
one continuous breath.

  1. A figure standing alone at an unlit tram stop, dawn
    01 · Feature

    2026 · In post-production · Dutch, French, Fula

    Mamadou

    A West African man waits, day after day, at the same Utrecht tram stop for a woman who once promised to come back.

    Enter film
  2. A window at night, the room behind it unlit
    02 · Short

    2024 · 23 min · Arabic, Dutch

    Must We Go Back?

    A brother and sister sit at a kitchen table the night before a flight neither of them wants to take.

    Enter film
  3. A woman at a kitchen window, mid-sentence
    03 · Short

    2023 · 16 min · Arabic

    Birthday Gift

    A mother in Aleppo records a video message for her son in Europe, and edits it sixty-three times before she sends it.

    Enter film
  4. Three pairs of hands resting at the edge of a table
    04 · Short

    2021 · 19 min · Dutch, Arabic

    One of the Three

    Three brothers gather in the apartment of the one who stayed, and decide nothing.

    Enter film

Index 003 — Biography

Drawn from
reality.

Mohamed Qahees, portrait against a textured wall
Plate 01 — Utrecht

Mohamed Qahees works in poetic realism: a cinema of small rooms, long pauses, and people who do not quite say what they mean.

  1. i.

    A Syrian-Dutch writer and director working across film and visual storytelling, with a poetic realist approach.

  2. ii.

    He began his career in Turkey as an assistant director before moving into directing television programs and short films, developing a visual language shaped by human detail, silence, and emotional realism.

  3. iii.

    His work is drawn from reality, often exploring fragile characters, internal conflict, and intimate human experiences.

  4. iv.

    Mohamed has written and directed several independent projects, and graduated from HKU University of the Arts Utrecht in the Netherlands.

Index 004 — Festivals & Selections

Where the work
has travelled.

  1. 2026In post-productionUtrechtMamadouFestival premiere TBA
  2. 2024International Film Festival RotterdamRotterdamMust We Go Back?Ammodo Tiger Short Competition
  3. 2024Go ShortNijmegenMust We Go Back?
  4. 2024Cairo International Film FestivalCairoMust We Go Back?Best Arab Short, Special Mention
  5. 2023Visions du RéelNyonBirthday GiftBurning Lights Competition
  6. 2023DOK LeipzigLeipzigBirthday Gift
  7. 2023IDFAAmsterdamBirthday GiftBest Dutch Short, Nominee
  8. 2023Nederlands Film FestivalUtrechtBirthday GiftGouden Kalf, Best Short Documentary
  9. 2022Tampere Film FestivalTampereOne of the ThreeInternational Competition
  10. 2022Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film FestivalClermont-FerrandOne of the Three
  11. 2021HKU Graduation SelectionUtrechtOne of the ThreeGraduation Honours

Index 005 — Correspondence

For festival submissions, agency enquiries, and long letters about cinema—

General

studio@qahees.film

Representation

Independent Talent
Amsterdam · Berlin
m.qahees@independenttalent.eu

Festival prints

Lowlands Pictures
Hoogt 4, Utrecht 3512 GW
The Netherlands

End of reel — © 2026 M. Qahees