ABOUT

Deena Stevens is an Iowan–Chinese–Malaysian filmmaker who grew up in the Middle East. With a lifelong passion for storytelling and gaming, her film career began in Los Angeles, later expanding into luxury marketing in Dubai and documentary filmmaking in Greece. She co-founded an NGO focused on refugee relief efforts in Greece, where she also led the organization’s creative direction.

After returning to Dubai, Deena was awarded the UAE Golden Visa for her creative achievements in filmmaking. She went on to co-found Disco Insect, a multidisciplinary video studio based in the United Arab Emirates.

Her films have been shown in multiple film festivals such as the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, Dubai International Film Festival, and Cannes Film Festival. She has also edited feature films showcased at the Venice Film Festival. To humbly top it all off, she hoarded a collection of awards, including the title of 'The Most Promising Filmmaker' in the region, the distinguished Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award for multimedia, several accolades from the 48 Hour Film Project in Dubai, the Habib Media Innovation Award for her work in documentary filmmaking, and the MAD (Motivation, Attitude, Dedication) Award for multimedia filmmaking.

Her non-serious side loves surrealism, referring to herself in the third person, and hyper-stylized movies. She hates having to suppress the urge to film unnecessary dance scenes in her films.

Her serious side's passions include history and actively campaigning for human rights. She totally believes that talking about topics like politics and religion are great ice-breakers. 

When she’s not making films, she’s probably playing Diablo or World of Warcraft, where she serves as a guild master and high-ranking PvPer.

Deena holds a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Communication with Magna Cum Laude honors from the American University of Sharjah, where she also minored in Film, Animation, and Illustration.