Tamara Stepanyan

Tamara Stepanyan, an accomplished filmmaker, was born in Armenia and relocated to Lebanon with her family in 1994, amidst the country's recovery from a devastating Civil War. She pursued her education at the Lebanese American University (LAU), where she graduated in 2005 with a degree in Communication Arts, specializing in Radio/TV/Film. While at LAU, she created several notable films, including *The Needle* (2004) and *The Last Station* (2005).

Stepanyan's passion for filmmaking led her to participate in various workshops, such as the Asian Film Academy during the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea in 2007, and an exchange program at Den Danske Filmskole in Denmark in 2012. That same year, she traveled to Sudan, where she produced a 30-episode documentary series focused on the rich cultural tapestry of Sudanese traditions and cuisine.

Her artistic endeavors include *My Beirut*, a multimedia installation showcased at Badguer I in 2009. She also directed the short documentary *Little Stones* and the narrative fiction *February 19*, which garnered the Best Fiction Film Award at the Lebanese Film Festival. Stepanyan's most recent work, *Embers*, received the Best Documentary Award at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival, marking a significant achievement in her dynamic career as she embarks on her first feature fiction script in France.