Biography:Amir Aether Valen is a writer, director and photographer who works primarily within non-fiction storytelling. While studying at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Amir’s student film, "Who I Say I Am" won the Best Trinidad & Tobago Short Documentary Film Award, as well as the United Nations Award for Best Emerging Documentary Filmmaker at the Trinidad + Tobago Film Festival 2016. In 2020 Amir graduated from Escuela Internacional de Cine y Televisión (EICTV) in Cuba after specializing in Documentary Film Direction. He has made a number of short films across Cuba including, "The Whisper of the Leaves", which had its world premiere at Sheffield DocFest in 2021, and "While the Night Falls", which had its world premiere at True/False Film Festival 2023. Amir has been a lecturer at the UWI since 2022. He is also an education facilitator at the Living Water Community - Ministry for Migrants & Refugees, and produces commercial creative content through his production company, Elements of Mental Zen Productions Ltd.