Layan Adham Ismail is your average German-educated French-speaking Miami-born Egyptian writer and filmmaker. A nerd since conception, Ismail originally set out to become a Chemist but her love of the arts finally pushed her towards majoring in Film and New Media at New York University Abu Dhabi. But it was her general indecisiveness that led her to add a second major – Psychology –, and a minor in Creative Writing. Apart from dressing like a prop on The Adams Family, Ismail has a knack for using humor as a tool of political discussion, which seeps into her work. Over the course of her journey, Ismail has written and directed 4 short films, participated in over 15 shoots as a producer, assistant director, sound mixer, script supervisor, director of photography and actress. She has also worked closely with Egyptian director Kamla Abou Zekri and Gulf-writer Noor Al-Hajje. Currently, she is adding the final touches to her latest dark comedy short Afaf. With her films and short stories, Ismail endeavors to prove to the world that your defense mechanism can be incorporated into your passion. She also wants to help jumpstart the matriarchy.