ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

A fellow of the Moving Picture Institute, Jared Lapidus is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. The Libel Tourist was his first documentary short for MPI. “It was a truly eye-opening experience,” Lapidus says. “Every other time bin Mahfouz did this, the accused packed up and left. Rachel fought back.”

Once the film was completed, Lapidus took the bold decision to premiere it on the Internet. "With these new forms of media and distribution, we’re not beholden to anyone or anything, and that is very liberating," he says. "Online documentaries like this are a great tool to raise consciousness very quickly.”