Director/DP Reel

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Paul is a director/writer who has worked in theatre and on short films, features, documentaries, web series, and commercials. He has directed plays at the American Globe Theatre (Off-Off Broadway), The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Source Theatre, and The Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint. 

Paul's directing and cinematography work have won awards from the Tellys, Indie Series Awards, and France’s Web Series Mag. He was nominated as Best Director and Best Cinematographer by the International Academy of Web Television. His work has also received recognition from the ADDY Awards, The Kodak Company, and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 

His screenplay (co-written with Kathryn O'Sullivan)  for “A Savage Nature” won the Hollywood Screenplay Grand Prize Thriller Award. Their screenplay "The Legend of Lizzy Flynn" was a finalist at The Vail Screenplay Competition, The Big Apple Film Festival Screenplay Competition and a Semi-Finalist at the Austin Film Festival. Paul's debut novel, When Earth Shall Be No More  a science fiction thriller written with Kathryn O'Sullivan, will be published by Secant Publishing in May 2022.

Paul has a Bachelor’s in Theatre Arts and an MA and an MFA in Film. He is a Cinema Professor at Northern Virginia Community College and is currently working on a textbook about Micro-Budget Filmmaking. 

"A Savage Nature accomplishes its mission as a taut and riveting home invasion thriller." - Film Threat

A lonely waitress is desperate to escape her small town and repair her marriage to her deputy sheriff husband. On the evening of their wedding anniversary, the troubled couple attempts to make a fresh start, but things take an unexpected turn when sinister strangers invade their home. As the night unfolds, loyalties shift, secrets spill, and lives shatter. 

savagenaturemovie.com

Best Feature Drama – French Independent Film Festival 

Best Thriller – Washington Film Festival

Best Feature Film – New Cinema-Lisbon Monthly Film Festival

Grand Prize Thriller Award – Hollywood Screenplay Contest

Best Actress (Joanna Whicker) – Los Angeles Crime and Horror Film Festival 

 "In A Savage Nature, director Paul Awad comfortably takes refuge in the home invasion subgenre, executing the tense moments we’ve come to expect with aplomb. Along the way, he also subverts expectations with a jarring narrative twist that colors what we’ve seen previously in an entirely new light. 7 out of 10" Film Threat

“A Savage Nature is a terrific example of indie horror at its best”. -Nightmarish Conjurings 

 "A change from the typical indie horror fare, this is a film that takes familiar cliches and stereotypes and subverts them at every turn; making this film a must-see! 

4 and 1/2 stars out of 5" -Nerdly 

"One of the best films of 2021. 4 and 1/2 stars out of 5."-VideoViews

"The lead actor Joanna Whicker does a fantastic job of playing the wife who yearns for more in her life. -Eclectic Arts

“A Savage Nature delivers its pared down, keyed up goods with aplomb.” The Strange Colour Of Deej’s Reviews

Bicentennial Bonsai is a documentary by Paul Awad and Kathryn O'Sullivan. The film chronicles the historic gift of 53 priceless bonsai from Japan to the United States in celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial.

Official Selection of Dunedin International Film Festival

Official Selection of Loudoun Arts Film Festival 2021    

Official Selection of Utopia Film Festival 2021-Winner of the Utopian Vision Award for 'the best work in any category which reflects the value of cinema to help create a better world'.

Thurston is an award-winning  series with over 1 million views. 

Click here to read the Backstage Magazine article on Thurston.

Click here to hear an interview with Thurston's producer Kathryn O'Sullivan.  

Please visit the Thurston website to view all episodes and to learn more about the series.

Thurston-Series.com.  

The reel includes the Addy Award winning Singleton & Hutchinson campaign.

All work was shot on (16mm or 35mm) film. Format SD.

Dracula has invited his fiance, Lucy, home to the castle to meet his overbearing mother. When Lucy arrives, Mrs. Dracula clearly disapproves of her son's choice for a bride. When nothing goes according to Dracula's plan at dinner, battle lines are drawn and Dracula is forced to choose between his mother or his one true love.

The Fugue is a micro-budget feature inspired by Asian horror cinema.  It was released by Indiefix and available from Netflix in 2008.

Where should you look during an audition? What makes a good headshot? What should you wear? Paul guides students through workshop exercises created to help actors make the most of their audition time, bring out their unique qualities and give them a solid grasp of the auditioning process and the skills necessary to get the part.

The video series is available from First Light Video Publishing.

This is a 16 mm music video we shot in '92 for the band T.K.Leggs.

And a late 90s corporate video for Phillip Morris.