Sanaa Hamri
Encyclopedia
Sanaa Hamri is a Moroccan American music video
and film director. She is one of the few prominent female film and music video directors of color.
, Morocco
to the late Moroccan painter and author Mohammed Hamri. In 1992, at the age of 17, she won a scholarship to Sarah Lawrence College
in Bronxville, New York, where she studied theatre. She studied her junior year of college in Paris, graduated in 1996 and then moved to Manhattan. With dreams of becoming an actress, Hamri struggled through auditions and unemployment before she decided to try directing. Hamri taught herself to use an Avid editing machine in 2000 and has never taken a filmmaking course. Realizing she had a talent for putting images together in order to tell a story, Hamri began making videos and approaching the music industry.
Her big break came when video mogul Malik Sayeed saw one of her early productions and loved it. He showed it to Mariah Carey
, who was just as impressed as Malik and hired Hamri to direct her video. He also gave Hamri her first editing job for a reggae – hip hop fusion group called Born Jamericans
. Hamri made her directing debut two years later after meeting music video director Hype Williams.
's "U Make Me Wanna", Prince
's "Musicology
", Kelly Rowland
's "Stole
" and Mariah Carey
's "Crybaby
", Bringing On The Heartbreak, "Don't Stop (Funkin' 4 Jamaica)
", and Mariah Carey
's unreleased video for "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life
." She has also directed videos for Nicki Minaj
, Lenny Kravitz
, Prince
, Joss Stone
, Sting, Common, Raven-Symoné
, Eric Benet
, Amel Larrieux
, Jay-Z
, A*Teens, and Christina Aguilera
. She also directed the music video for Greyson Chance's "Waiting Outside The Lines".
Production began in March 2005 on Focus Features
' Something New
, a romantic comedy starring Sanaa Lathan
(Brown Sugar, Alien vs. Predator) and Simon Baker
(The Ring Two, L.A. Confidential) and directed by Hamri. The film was released on January 29, 2006. Stephanie Allain produced the film through her company, Homegrown Pictures. Something New was Hamri's first film, as she made the transition from music videos to features. Something New was the first major studio release in Hollywood that was produced by, directed by, written by, and starring African American women. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
was the second film Hamri directed and was released on August 6, 2008. Her latest directorial project was Just Wright
with Queen Latifah and Common, which was released on May 14, 2010.
Along with directing feature film and music videos, Hamri also directs television. Hamri has directed multiple episodes of ABC's Desperate Housewives
, Greys Anatomy, and Men in Trees
. Mariah Carey's live concert documentary, The Adventures of Mimi, and Prince's The Art of Musicology and Price Live at the Aladdin Las Vegas were directed by Hamri. Her recent commercial credits include spots for Coors Light
and AT&T
.
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
and film director. She is one of the few prominent female film and music video directors of color.
Early life and breakthrough
Hamri was born in TangierTangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
to the late Moroccan painter and author Mohammed Hamri. In 1992, at the age of 17, she won a scholarship to Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
in Bronxville, New York, where she studied theatre. She studied her junior year of college in Paris, graduated in 1996 and then moved to Manhattan. With dreams of becoming an actress, Hamri struggled through auditions and unemployment before she decided to try directing. Hamri taught herself to use an Avid editing machine in 2000 and has never taken a filmmaking course. Realizing she had a talent for putting images together in order to tell a story, Hamri began making videos and approaching the music industry.
Her big break came when video mogul Malik Sayeed saw one of her early productions and loved it. He showed it to Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
, who was just as impressed as Malik and hired Hamri to direct her video. He also gave Hamri her first editing job for a reggae – hip hop fusion group called Born Jamericans
Born Jamericans
Born Jamericans was a reggae/hip hop duo formed in Washington, D.C., popular in the 1990s.The group comprised Norman "Notch" Howell and Edley "Shine" Payne. Notch's voice is smooth and melodic, while Shine's is rougher and tends more toward rapping...
. Hamri made her directing debut two years later after meeting music video director Hype Williams.
Career
Her videos include but are not limited to JadakissJadakiss
Jason Phillips , better known as Jadakiss, is an American rapper. He is a member of the group The LOX. Jadakiss is one of the three owners of the imprint known as D-Block. In early 2007, Jadakiss signed to Roc-a-Fella Records / Def Jam Records.-Early life:By the age of 16, Jadakiss was a freestyle...
's "U Make Me Wanna", Prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
's "Musicology
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
", Kelly Rowland
Kelly Rowland
Kelendria Trene "Kelly" Rowland is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the founding members of the American girl group Destiny's Child...
's "Stole
Stole (song)
"Stole" is a song by American singer Kelly Rowland. It was written and co-produced by Dane Deviller, Sean Hosein and Steve Kipner and recorded for Rowland's solo album Simply Deep...
" and Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
's "Crybaby
Crybaby (song)
"Crybaby" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on July 20, 2000 by Columbia Records as a double A-side with "Can't Take That Away ". It was written by Carey and Snoop Dogg, and produced by the former and Damizza for Carey's seventh studio album, Rainbow...
", Bringing On The Heartbreak, "Don't Stop (Funkin' 4 Jamaica)
Don't Stop (Funkin' 4 Jamaica)
"Don't Stop " is a song written and produced by American singer Mariah Carey, DJ Clue, Duro, and Mystikal, and recorded for Carey's tenth album Glitter . It is built around a sample of the 1980s song "Funkin' for Jamaica " produced by Tom Browne and Toni Smith, and it features rapped parts by...
", and Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
's unreleased video for "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life (song)
"Last Night a D.J. Saved My Life" is a song written by Michael Cleveland for R&B–New Wave–dance group Indeep. It features vocals from Reggie and Rose Marie Ramsey, and its protagonists recall how they were bored to death until a DJ played a hot song and saved their lives by giving new energy to the...
." She has also directed videos for Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...
, Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
, Prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
, Joss Stone
Joss Stone
Jocelyn Eve Stoker , better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist...
, Sting, Common, Raven-Symoné
Raven-Symoné
Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman , known professionally as Raven-Symoné , or simply Raven, is an American actress, singer, songwriter, comedian, dancer, television producer and model. Symoné launched her successful career in 1989 after appearing in The Cosby Show as Olivia...
, Eric Benet
Eric Benét
Eric Benét, is an American singer. His duet with Tamia, "Spend My Life With You" was a number one song for three weeks on the US Billboard R&B chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2000....
, Amel Larrieux
Amel Larrieux
Amel Larrieux is an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter and keyboardist. Larrieux rose to fame in the mid 1990s as a founding member of the duo Groove Theory along with Bryce Wilson. After leaving the group in 1999, she released her debut solo album Infinite Possibilities the following year on...
, Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
, A*Teens, and Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
. She also directed the music video for Greyson Chance's "Waiting Outside The Lines".
Production began in March 2005 on Focus Features
Focus Features
Focus Features is the art house films division of NBC Universal's Universal Pictures, and acts as both a producer and distributor for its own films and a distributor for foreign films....
' Something New
Something New (film)
Something New is a 2006 American romantic drama film directed by Sanaa Hamri. The screenplay by Kriss Turner focuses on interracial relationships and traditional African American family values and social customs.-Plot:...
, a romantic comedy starring Sanaa Lathan
Sanaa Lathan
Sanaa McCoy Lathan is an American actress and voice actress. She has starred in numerous movies, including the box-office hits Love & Basketball, Alien vs. Predator, Something New, and The Family That Preys. Lathan was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance on Broadway in A Raisin in the Sun...
(Brown Sugar, Alien vs. Predator) and Simon Baker
Simon Baker
Simon Baker is an Australian actor. Since 2008, he has starred in the CBS television series The Mentalist.-Early life:...
(The Ring Two, L.A. Confidential) and directed by Hamri. The film was released on January 29, 2006. Stephanie Allain produced the film through her company, Homegrown Pictures. Something New was Hamri's first film, as she made the transition from music videos to features. Something New was the first major studio release in Hollywood that was produced by, directed by, written by, and starring African American women. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 is a 2008 sequel to the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. The original cast , return to star in the movie, which was directed by Sanaa Hamri...
was the second film Hamri directed and was released on August 6, 2008. Her latest directorial project was Just Wright
Just Wright
Just Wright is a 2010 romantic comedy film starring Common and Queen Latifah that tells the story of a physical therapist who falls in love with a pro basketball player. The film received mixed reviews.-Plot:...
with Queen Latifah and Common, which was released on May 14, 2010.
Along with directing feature film and music videos, Hamri also directs television. Hamri has directed multiple episodes of ABC's Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
, Greys Anatomy, and Men in Trees
Men in Trees
Men in Trees is an American romantic television dramedy series which premiered on September 12, 2006 on ABC and starred Anne Heche who played relationship coach Marin Frist. The series was set in the fictional town of Elmo, Alaska and concerned Marin Frist's misadventures in relationships...
. Mariah Carey's live concert documentary, The Adventures of Mimi, and Prince's The Art of Musicology and Price Live at the Aladdin Las Vegas were directed by Hamri. Her recent commercial credits include spots for Coors Light
Coors Light
Coors Light is a light beer produced by the Coors Brewing Company. It was first produced in 1978.The beer has a "Cold Certified" label which turns the mountains on the label from white to blue when the beer's temperature is lowered to 4 degrees Celsius .- Promotions :In 2008, Coors Light became...
and AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
.