Some artists work in one language. Hadi Moussally works in many at once — cinema, photography, dance, performance, fashion. Lebanese-born and dividing his time between Paris and Barcelona, he’s the filmmaker behind La Casquette (winner of Best Queer Refugee Short 2026), the performer behind Salma Zahore, and one of the more restlessly curious voices in European hybrid filmmaking today.
His work has traveled to more than 500 festivals and won over 70 awards. What stays with him, though, is the conversation after each screening — the people who tell him they saw themselves in a story.
For LocalsInsider, Hadi wrote about Paris, Barcelona, tolerance, Salma, dance, and the city he now calls home. What follows is his essay, in his own words.
Follow Hadi at hadimoussally.com and on Instagram at @hadi.moussally.
