May Mustafa is a Mauritanian filmmaker, photographer, and independent visual artist born in 1989 in Nouakchott. Raised between Tripoli and Tunis and later based in Egypt, her artistic experience was shaped through diverse Arab cultural environments connected to image-making, memory, and human-centered storytelling.

She began her artistic career in photography in 2011, participating in Arab and international exhibitions and photography competitions before moving into filmmaking in 2012.

Over the years, she worked across multiple areas of independent cinema, including directing, editing, assistant directing, acting, and visual storytelling, developing a cinematic language rooted in emotional atmosphere and socially driven narratives.

Mustafa directed several short films, including:
Ishtar & Isis, The First Box, Bells, and It Is Not Over Yet.

Her films participated in Arab and international festivals and received awards and jury recognitions, including distinctions at Nouakchott International Film Festival, Arab Youth Creativity Festival in Cairo, and the International Moving Film Festival in Iran.

Alongside her filmmaking work, she also participated as a jury member and selection committee member in several international film festivals, contributing to independent cinema platforms focused on emerging voices and experimental storytelling.

Her artistic approach combines visual sensitivity with emotionally driven narratives, often exploring themes connected to women, identity, memory, and psychological experience through intimate cinematic atmospheres.

At the 1st edition of the Kobani International Film Festival 2020, May Mustafa participated as a member of the Selection Committee, contributing a perspective shaped by independent filmmaking and visual storytelling across Arab cinematic spaces.