Samer Beyhum was raised in war-torn Lebanon during the tumultuous 1975 to 1990 civil war. Despite the divisive sectarian and patriarchal atmosphere of that era, he grew up in a uniquely diverse and politically conscious environment. From an early age, Samer developed a deep commitment to peace, social justice, environmental responsibility, and human dignity. In 1997, he represented Lebanon at the Global Youth Forum organized by the United Nations in Seoul, South Korea, a formative experience that affirmed his dedication to using culture and storytelling as tools for social change.

Samer pursued filmmaking and theater studies at the Lebanese American University in Beirut, where he began shaping a multidisciplinary artistic language. Drawing on his background in music, his experience as a ballet dancer, and his strong social and political awareness, he created expressive and unconventional projects that fused movement, sound, image, and activism. These early works laid the foundation for a practice rooted as much in ethics as in aesthetics.

Following his studies, Samer built a wide-ranging career as a filmmaker, director, editor, sound designer and engineer, post-production specialist, and technical consultant. In 2006, Samer relocated to the UAE where he worked as a senior editor at a production house before relocating to Canada in 2008.

His drive to produce socially engaged media led him to co-found 99Media.org in Montreal (2011), an independent media collective dedicated to social justice and critical storytelling. Through this platform, he collaborated on numerous projects and directed or contributed to award-winning documentaries such as “Derives” (2012), “La Chartes des Distractions” (2014), and “Une Histoire Syrienne” (2014), works that explored displacement, power, memory, and resistance.

Motivated by a desire to contribute directly to the cultural and social fabric of his home country, Samer returned to Lebanon in 2016. At the Lebanese American University of Beirut, he co-founded and led an initiative that encouraged students and alumni to produce socially relevant films to international professional standards. This mentorship and production model resulted in several acclaimed films, including “Maram” (2017), “The Spiral” (2018), and “Abandoned” (2019), many of which screened at festivals and sparked public discussion around marginalization, gender, and systemic injustice.

Alongside his filmmaking and teaching, Samer has collaborated with and provided creative and technical expertise to numerous regional and international organizations, including Sharq.org, Tarikhi.org, the Arab Reform Initiative, the Center for Lebanese Studies, the Arab Council for Social Sciences, and The Volunteer Circle.

In recent years, Samer’s work has increasingly focused on long-term storytelling, education, and institution building. He is the co-founder and co-director of the Beirut Film Center, an independent platform dedicated to empowering emerging filmmakers through hands-on training, mentorship, and collaborative production. The center functions as both a school and a creative hub, bringing together professionals and youth to produce films, music videos, and experimental works that engage critically with social realities. Under his leadership, the Beirut Film Center has become a space where education, ethics, and high-level craft intersect.

His latest work, “Maram: Between Shadow and Light” (2025), is a continuation of his earlier award-winning documentary “Maram”, reconnecting with its protagonist years later to explore survival, loss, and resilience in the aftermath of abuse and systemic neglect.

Samer’s most recent film projects deepen his long-standing themes. He is currently developing “Men of the Blood”, a documentary that examines masculinity, hunting culture, and transformation through the personal journey of a former hunter turned conservationist, using myth and reflection to question inherited notions of power and tradition. He is also developing a passion project titled “Ard Ba’lat”, a science fiction series set in a dystopian future where Phoenician civilization endures, using this imagined world to examine corruption, injustice, and deep-rooted social power structures.

Beyond cinema, Samer is the co-founder of the Alternative Kitchen, a vegan awareness and catering project rooted in compassion, sustainability, and social responsibility. Through documentaries, podcasts, cooking content, and community-based initiatives, Alternative Kitchen uses food as a storytelling medium, challenging dominant narratives around diet, culture, and power while advocating for ethical and environmentally conscious choices.The project promotes accessible, affordable vegan living through traditional Levantine cuisine, educational media, and advocacy, linking food sovereignty, animal rights, environmental justice, and cultural memory.

Across film, education, sound, food, and activism, Samer Beyhum’s work is united by a single impulse: to question inherited systems, amplify silenced voices, and create spaces where empathy, critical thought, and creativity can thrive.