Mashael Alqahtani is a Saudi Arabian writer whose work depicts characters fighting to tell the truth about themselves and their worlds, through both the horrific and comedic. Mashael earned a BA in Film Production from Emerson College, and dual MFAs in Screenwriting from USC and the American Film Institute — feel free to ask her why she literally can’t stop going to school.

Mashael is a Blumhouse x Sundance Screamwriting Fellow with her horror feature, Sila. Her action-comedy feature, Tafheet, was a 2024 Script Pipeline First Look Winner. Mashael co-wrote “Two Sisters,” which played at the Red Sea Film Festival, Saudi Film Festival, NewFilmmakersLA and the Brooklyn Film Festival. Her work has placed in competitions and labs such as the Austin Film Festival, Screencraft, BlueCat, Script Pipeline and The Athena Writer’s Lab. Mashael spends her free time baking, reading gore-y comic books, and spinning basketballs on her fingertips.