Meet Mashael Alqahtani: A Saudi screenwriter making waves with “Two Sisters”

Saudi screenwriter Mashael Alqahtani latest work, the short film Two Sisters, has already captivated audiences on the international festival circuit and signals she is a bold storyteller unafraid to blend raw emotion with biting social observation.

Co-written with director and brother Waleed Alqahtani, Two Sisters dives into the unraveling psyche of Nour, a failed actress forced by her sister to quit smoking. The film follows her through a lavish birthday party she never wanted, spiraling between comedy and tragedy as she hunts desperately for a cigarette to calm her nerves.

Festival journey

The short has screened at major showcases worldwide, including:

Brooklyn Film Festival (2025)

Saudi Film Festival (2025)

NewFilmmakers LA (2024)

Red Sea Film Festival (2024)

Each selection underscores the film’s resonance across borders, celebrating a story rooted in Saudi culture while universally relatable in its exploration of family, addiction, and identity.

Breaking barriers in screenwriting

Mashael’s work with Two Sisters is just one chapter of her global career. She was recently selected as a 2025 Screamwriting Fellow, an exclusive, prestigious program of nine fellows backed by Blumhouse, Sundance, and K Period Media, for leading voices in commercial genre storytelling. Read more on Deadline.

Through this fellowship, she joins a curated cohort of emerging storytellers who receive tailored guidance industry access and creative development opportunities on their chosen projects. Her inclusion in this distinguished program shows her talent of pushing narrative boundaries and contributing boldly to global genre cinema.

This recognition positions her within an elite cohort of screenwriters shaping the boundaries of horror, thriller, and psychological storytelling on a global scale.