He studied filmmaking and has a master’s degree from New York Film Academy in Hollywood, California. He directed a number of short films including Bahiya and Mahmoud, which won the Best of Festival Award at the 2011 Palm Springs International Film Festival and Shortfest, and was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2012. The film also received several awards and accolades in a number of international film festivals. Abu Hamdan has written and directed six short films in English, Arabic, Mandarin, Hebrew, and Japanese.