It is the passion of seeing art created by your own hands through embodiment, sculpture, and formation—and being part of the world of light and color that gives existence its very essence—that led him to art as a career after academic study and a determined professional ascent.
Following his 2011 graduation from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus, specializing in Photography (Cinema and Television), he sought to master every investigative angle a camera lens could explore. He worked across various journalistic fields as a photojournalist for the SANA News Agency, where the camera chases its frames under the most sensitive and complex living conditions.
Later, he served as a cinematographer and Director of Photography (DOP) for several production companies. He led the cinematography and lighting for various dramatic and cinematic works, including the film “Children of the Black Stone,” which garnered awards at the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals. He also directed the short film “Why?”, which participated in numerous international festivals.
Throughout this journey, he organized and participated in several fine art exhibitions, beginning with solo photography exhibitions in 2011 and 2013. In 2014, he participated as a sculptor in an abstract art exhibition with two wooden sculptures, followed by a sculpture project in the 2015 Autumn Exhibition.
Between 2019 and 2020, he served as the Communications and Media Manager at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Residing in the UAE since 2022, he worked with the Dubai Police General Headquarters as a producer and cinematographer for short documentaries and awareness campaigns. He also freelanced as a commercial photographer for several prestigious brands. During the same period, he worked with the UAE Government Media Office within the Media Relations team for four years, executing and coordinating a wide range of official international and local events.
At Taqueen, he believed in the project from its official inception, becoming a vital part of realizing the vision through his creative lens as the Director of Photography and Lighting for the company’s first production, “From Sands to Stars – Zayed bin Sultan,” while also managing coordination between the project’s various elements.As his artistic reputation grew, he transitioned into a pinnacle of the creative industry: specializing in the portraiture of presidential and high-ranking political figures, and designing the visual identity for presidential and parliamentary campaigns. He culminated his photography career with a solo exhibition titled “The Witness” (Al-Shahed), the first of its kind in Syria up until 2019.
Before that, he had already embarked on a new passionate journey: transforming still images into moving, speaking stories through documentary and biographical filmmaking. He laid the foundation for this path to launch officially in the United Arab Emirates by founding Taqueen Art Production. Its debut production was the docudrama film: “From Sands to Stars – Zayed bin Sultan.”
Keilani produced and directed this film, which is considered the first of its kind in the UAE—a comprehensive project spanning the nation’s history from 8500 BC to 2026. The work meets international production standards, drawing inspiration from the mastery of global directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Wolfgang Petersen, and the late Syrian filmmaker Moustafa Akkad.
Looking toward the future, he is currently sowing the seeds for upcoming feature films and drama series, designed to be landmarks in the landscape of Arab cinema and television.