She was educated in Iraq, the USA and the UK. At undergraduate level, she studied Philosophy at University College London (BA Hons) and subsequently graduated from the London Film School. She worked for many years as a documentary and drama film editor in the UK, and has worked since 1994 as an independent documentary film director. She has written several feature scripts, as well, one of which was selected for the European Union Sources II workshop. She has also taught film directing and editing in Britain and Palestine (in Jerusalem, Gaza and at Birzeit University). She is a founding member of the London-based group, ACT TOGETHER: Women’s Action for Iraq. In 2004, with her colleague, Kasim Abid, she co-founded INDEPENDENT FILM & TELEVISION COLLEGE, a free-of-charge film-training centre in Baghdad.