Resume

Mazen El Motagawel is an Egyptian cinematographer, director, and lighting designer of Libyan origin, with a professional career spanning more than 25 years filled with achievements and awards. His career began when he became the youngest cinematographer in the Arab world after taking on the role for the film The Seventh Sense, directed by Ahmed Mekky in 2005.
El Motagawel graduated from the High Cinema Institute in 2004. His cinematography career includes several major films, among them the Welad Rizk trilogy directed by Tarek El Arian, with whom he also collaborated on the action film El Khallya (The Cell). El Motagawel won the Best Cinematography Award at the Arab Cinema Awards for the first Welad Rizk film, as well as for The Cell.
He also collaborated with director Hadi El-Bagoury on several films and series, most notably the Netflix series Finding Ola starring Hend Sabry, the film The Guest, and the series Ard Khas. His cinematic work also includes many notable films, such as Captain Hima starring Tamer Hosny, Teta Raheeba directed by Sameh Abdel Aziz, Khaleeg Neama directed by Magdy El-Hawary, and other productions.
Mazen El Motagawel has also built a distinguished career in music video cinematography, shooting widely successful music videos in collaboration with stars such as Amr Diab, Tamer Hosny, Assala, Ahmed Mekky, and many others.
In the advertising world, El Motagawel has worked with some of the most prominent global brands. He is particularly known for filming campaigns outside Egypt and was the cinematographer behind the “You Are Stronger Than Drugs” campaign starring Egyptian football star Mohamed Salah.
Throughout his career, Mazen El Motagawel has demonstrated a remarkable ability to film around the world, having shot projects in more than 20 countries, including Spain, Italy, France, the United States, Brazil, Japan, England, Russia, Turkey, India, Cyprus, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Libya, Kuwait, and others.
El Motagawel is also a prominent figure in directing, cinematography, and lighting design for major international ceremonies and events, particularly presidential events. These include the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Egypt and the World Youth Forum. In 2021, he gained global acclaim for directing, shooting, and designing the lighting for the Royal Mummies Parade. In 2025, he also participated in directing the opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum. Additionally, he filmed the opening and closing ceremonies of the El Gouna Film Festival, along with other major events.
In 2017, Mazen El Motagawel expanded into commercial directing, taking on the role of director for numerous successful advertising campaigns in collaboration with major companies.