Independent Writers' Caucus
Lewis Sarmed Alsamari
A multi-award nominated Iraqi-British author and WGA screenwriter known for his critically acclaimed biography published by the Penguin Random House Group in several languages worldwide. The book’s title is OUT OF IRAQ and is also known as ESCAPE FROM SADDAM in North America.
The book chronicles Alsamari’s real life story as an Iraqi soldier back in the 1990s who escaped Saddam Hussein’s notorious army and treacherous military intelligence.
While escaping, Alsamari was shot in the leg, chased and almost eaten alive by desert canines as he crossed into neighboring Jordan. He continued arduously across the Middle East and into South East Asia, finally reaching the UK (where he grew up as a child) and sought political asylum. He then worked on NBCUniversal movies GREEN ZONE and UNITED 93.
Alsamari was forced to return to the Middle East and instigate a sting operation to rescue his family from torture by the same military intelligence he was due to serve. He trained as a British lawyer with an LLB Honours Bachelor of Laws from the London Metropolitan University, an LLM Master of Laws from the UK’s elite law school: the University of Law, and subsequently trained as a professional writer. His screenwriting received 6 accolades including Austin Film Festival and ScreenCraft. He is a black-belt Muay-Thai fighter & proficient in Wing Chun Kung Fu.
Honors & Awards
Quarterfinalist, Los Angeles Int’l Screenplay Awards – GUUL: VENGEANCE – 2021
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Second Round, Austin Film Festival - IN OTHER NEWS – 2020
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Quarterfinalist, Screencraft - IN OTHER NEWS – 2019
WGA Associate Member
Male, Middle Eastern, Disabled, 40+
DEFIANT
(Drama - Penguin Random House novel adapt.)
Forced into Saddam Hussein’s army & shot by AK47s, a defiant westernized Iraqi teenager escapes torture, mutilation & ravenous desert wolves whilst mastering the art of living on the run. He must return with his British-Jewish wife to Iraq (as a wanted man) to save his family from imminent death.
IN OTHER NEWS
(Farcical comedy)
Employees at a conservative Christian American news agency are shell-shocked when an Arab sheikh suddenly acquires their bureau. Old and new staffers must co-exist or else the agency folds, they're all out of a job and the legacy (and audience) of their beloved company vanishes. Based on real life looney events.
GUUL: VENGEANCE
(Supernatural Horror - DIE HARD with demons)
Unleashed inside a new Los Angeles skyscraper, an ancient GUUL creature builds a portal to bring its colossal army into our world while a diverse team of mavericks scramble to avert-and-destroy the creature’s plan before humanity sees its final sunrise.
Character-driven, Female-centric, BIPOC-centric, Crime, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, International
Male, Middle Eastern, Disabled, 40+
unrepped