Alaa Amer is a Syrian writer, journalist, and filmmaker who graduated from the Faculty of Media at Damascus University in 2010. She began her media career in 2007, working across audiovisual, print, and digital platforms, developing an approach that brings together journalism and visual storytelling.

She wrote the screenplay for the short film Goal To Syria, which was selected for the Cannes Film Festival in 2014 and explored human issues related to conflict. In 2023, she wrote and directed the documentary Amani Behind the Lines, which won the Best Documentary Award at the Cannes International Series Festival. In the same year, she received the Horizons Award at the Grand Bivouac Festival in France.

Her work also extends into literature. In 2024, she published her debut novel Two Crimes in Istanbul, continuing her interest in realistic storytelling, violence, social margins, and human experience within complex urban environments.

Her creative practice combines journalistic sensitivity with cinematic and literary storytelling, with a particular interest in documenting human experiences within and beyond conflict zones.

At the 7th edition of the Kobani International Film Festival 2026, Alaa Amer serves as a Selection Committee Member – Documentary Films Section, contributing her experience in journalism, documentary filmmaking, and human-centered storytelling.