Mazen El Motagawel is an Egyptian director, cinematographer, and lighting designer with Libyan origins who began his journey as the youngest DOP in Egypt at the age of twenty-three. He was born in December, 1980 and he lived in the city of Alexandria until finally moving to Cairo in 1999. Upon arriving, El Motagawel decided to enroll at the High Cinema Institute and soon after, he began training under the guidance of some of the top-notch DOPs in the field, be it Arab or foreign. He started out as a loader and then quickly moved on to become a focus puller, which coincided with the time of his graduation from the institute in 2004. His graduation projects happened to receive much recognition because of how they stood out for being quite distinguished and technically superlative. Due to his academic and field work excellence, at only twenty-three, El Motagawel was fortunate enough to find his golden ticket very early on in life by being asked to work on his first long feature film, cult classic, and absolute fan favorite “The Seventh Sense” as the film’s DOP. From then on, he has continued to work on hundreds of prestigious projects from music videos and TV commercials to feature films and the first Middle Eastern TV series to be shot in 16mm. El Motagawel has worked with some of the most reputable agencies in the field and in the world, such as Satchi and Satchi, Leo Burnett, and JWT, and brands like Coca-Cola, Vodafone, KFC, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and many more. El Motagawel has also worked on countless famous Egyptian films, such as Naema Bay, Al Watar, Captain Hima, Teta Rahiba, Welad Rizk for which he was awarded Best Cinematography by for his exceptional work, Al Khaleya, one of Egypt’s top action films of the century, and finally, the extremely controversial film; Al Deif. Not only that, but he has also created several elite and presidential events. El Motagawel also had the opportunity to work and shoot in a number of countries, like London, Italy, Brazil, Russia, Lebanon, and Dubai. In 2021, El Motagawel was chosen to not only direct, but to also act as the DOP and lighting designer of one of the country’s grandest events to take place in recent years and one that has directed the whole world’s attention to Egypt; The Pharaohs Golden Parade. The meticulously orchestrated event proved incredibly successful, receiving praise from everyone who witnessed it, once again showcasing El Motagawel’s artistry and dedication.