Karima Asaad is an award-winning director and photographer whose films are raw, intimate and voyeuristic, built on a reverence for the people in front of her and an instinct for what goes unsaid. With roots in photojournalism and documentary across Europe, Australia and the US, she has trained her eye on the moments most brands miss: the glance that opens someone up, the recoil that tells the truth, and the softness that makes a story believable. She’s less interested in perfection than presence. She calls her approach sensual anthropology: close observation, cultural fluency, and a refusal to sanitise real life.
Brands bring her in for creative direction and the shoot: the world comes first, then the films that live in it.
On set, she has a habit of convincing people to do things they didn’t know they wanted to do. Not for shock value. For honesty. There’s a mischievous edge to her, but it’s always in service of something real: performances that people feel in their bodies, not just recognise with their eyes.
Based in New York, she has worked with Disney, Samsung, Nespresso, Puma, Virgin Group, KFC, Vaseline, TRESemmé, Westfield, Commonwealth Bank, Modibodi and the Australian Government. Her awards include a Silver Telly and an MEAA Visual Storytelling Award.