David Reviews
 "You're not an artist, Peggy. You solve problems." Don Draper.
AMROU AL-KADHI JOINS KNUCKLEHEAD
25 October 2024

When Knucklehead's Tim Katz describes their new signing Amrou Al-Kadhi as "the quintessential polymath" there is not a word of exaggeration. The British-Iraqi director is an artistic phenomenon, with their debut feature 'Layla' opening the Sundance Festival this year, and an amazing array of other creative endeavours.

in Amrou's astonishing 'Layla', they offer an insight into the chaotic life of a British-Arabic drag queen, and as they revealed in a highly entertaining Q&A session after a screening at the London Film Festival, it's a story close to their heart built around a lot of their own experiences with intersectionality. They were determined to avoid the tropes of tragedy that often congregate around queer stories of this nature, and the desire to instead create a joyous sex positive depiction is unquestionably a significant factor in the way the film has been met with unambiguous love.


“

Amrou is the quintessential polymath. A brilliant performance director, acclaimed script writer, published author and celebrated actor.

 ”

Amrou has several TV shows in development, including an adaptation of their Somerset Maugham Award-winning book 'Life as a Unicorn'. They have also written for Hollyoaks, BAFTA-nominated 'Little America' (with their episode being singled out for critical praise) and has still made time to tour their first solo drag act 'Glamrou: From Quran to Queen'.

Little wonder then that as well as describing Amrou as a quintessential polymath, Knucklehead's Tim Katz says of his new signing that they are "a brilliant performance director, acclaimed script writer, published author and celebrated actor. Now their debut feature LAYLA is making huge waves it really feels like the perfect time for them to introduce them to our part of the industry."

Meanwhile, Amrou says this of their new London base: "I'm totally tickled silly to be joining the phenomenal gang at Knucklehead. They have such an amazing track record of ushering filmmakers into the world of commercials and music videos. I'm so excited about this next chapter of my career, and of the chance to bring my visual and artistic sensibilities as a filmmaker into this dynamic world of content, and very grateful to have the guidance and wisdom of Knucklehead. I can't wait for all our iconic collaborations together. I'm a very lucky queen!"

You can see Amrou's reel at Knucklehead's website and then contact Claire Leaver using claire@knucklehead.tv.
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