Sanaa Hamri (Arabic: سناء Øمري‎; born November 19, 1977) is
a Moroccan-American film, television, and music video director. Hamri
has directed music videos for musicians including Prince, Mariah
Carey, Christina Aguilera, and Sting. She is known for her 2010 film
Just Wright and the 2008 movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
2, as well as for her music video for the Nicki Minaj song Super Bass.
She made her directorial debut in 2006 with the Focus Features
romantic comedy Something New. She has since directed the sequel to
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.Scholar Shelley Cobb has credited
Hamri's work as "[offering] alternative representations of black women
that productively engage with and even challenge usual stereotypes,
even as they use and conform to mainstream cinematic
conventions".:157Hamri was born in Tangier, Morocco, to Moroccan
Muslim Mohammed Hamri and Jewish American Blanche "Blanca" Hamri. Her
father came from the town of Jajouka and was employed as a painter and
author. Hamri's mother was a teacher. Both of Hamri's parents were
part of the creative community in Morocco, which was made up of
ex-pats such as Paul Bowles, William Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Timothy
Leary, Ted Morgan and Tennessee Williams. In fact, Hamri's mother was
the long-time secretary to Joseph A. McPhillips III, the headmaster of
the American School of Tangier, who was later in charge of Bowles'
estate.Hamri attended the American School of Tangier, where her mother
worked. The school was not gender balanced: at one point, Hamri was
the only girl on the soccer team and eventually, the sole female
student enrolled at her high school. In 1992, Hamri moved to the
United States after receiving a scholarship to attend Sarah Lawrence
College in Bronxville, New York. In college, she studied theatre arts
and pursued acting. Hamri spent her junior year of college in Paris,
and in 1996 graduated from Sarah Lawrence College.
a Moroccan-American film, television, and music video director. Hamri
has directed music videos for musicians including Prince, Mariah
Carey, Christina Aguilera, and Sting. She is known for her 2010 film
Just Wright and the 2008 movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
2, as well as for her music video for the Nicki Minaj song Super Bass.
She made her directorial debut in 2006 with the Focus Features
romantic comedy Something New. She has since directed the sequel to
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.Scholar Shelley Cobb has credited
Hamri's work as "[offering] alternative representations of black women
that productively engage with and even challenge usual stereotypes,
even as they use and conform to mainstream cinematic
conventions".:157Hamri was born in Tangier, Morocco, to Moroccan
Muslim Mohammed Hamri and Jewish American Blanche "Blanca" Hamri. Her
father came from the town of Jajouka and was employed as a painter and
author. Hamri's mother was a teacher. Both of Hamri's parents were
part of the creative community in Morocco, which was made up of
ex-pats such as Paul Bowles, William Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Timothy
Leary, Ted Morgan and Tennessee Williams. In fact, Hamri's mother was
the long-time secretary to Joseph A. McPhillips III, the headmaster of
the American School of Tangier, who was later in charge of Bowles'
estate.Hamri attended the American School of Tangier, where her mother
worked. The school was not gender balanced: at one point, Hamri was
the only girl on the soccer team and eventually, the sole female
student enrolled at her high school. In 1992, Hamri moved to the
United States after receiving a scholarship to attend Sarah Lawrence
College in Bronxville, New York. In college, she studied theatre arts
and pursued acting. Hamri spent her junior year of college in Paris,
and in 1996 graduated from Sarah Lawrence College.
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