In our last episode of the YDA Chats series, Karim sits down with Samir Mallal, Gold Screen Winner at YDA 2010 and director at Interrogate Films.

Across a range of genres, Samir’s filmmaking has been widely recognized for its visual immersion, humanity and emotional truth. He first came to prominence as a commercial director working with Smuggler where he directed commercials for global brands like Google, GE, Starbucks and Coca-Cola among many others.

In addition to commercials, Samir is highly regarded in the world of virtual reality and documentary film. He recently teamed with Within for “New Wave,” a cutting edge narrative VR film that pushes the limits of the medium with interactive voiceover. As a creative leader in the space, he has spoken on storytelling in VR at both CES and MIT.

Samir’s work has won a Cannes Gold Lion, a Gold Clio, a Webby, a D&AD and been nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. His documentary films have exhibited at major festivals and institutions around the world. Samir was selected for the Saatchi and Saatchi New Director’s Showcase, and won a YDA Gold Screen award in 2010.