Yasmeen Bou Chaaya

Yasmeen is a film and theatre writer, director and actress.

Hailing from Mount Lebanon, with a layover in Paris where she earned her Master’s in screenwriting and directing, she finally landed in the big apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur New York.

Her short film Reviens Mon Amour premiered at both the Vancouver International Film Festival and Frameline, traveling to festivals worldwide. She made her stage debut as a writer and performer in the one-woman play Allô? part of her AFI fellowship, which she continues to develop alongside a new untitled AFI project set to premiere in early 2027. Currently in development is her psychological horror short The Safest Place on Earth. A published writer, Yasmeen has contributed prose to the Trans Mentor Project: Hope in the Midst of Despair zine and to PEN America’s Dreaming Out Loud 2026 anthology. She finds humor in tragedy, blending comedy, drama, and horror to capture the joy of transition, the warmth of chosen family, and the bittersweet texture of New York life. Her hybrid work navigates reality and absurdity, transcending conventional boundaries.