Born in 1955 in Baghdad, Iraq, Samir migrated with his family to Switzerland in the 1960s. After studying at the School of Arts in Zurich and training as a typographer and cameraman, he became an activist in Zurich’s Radical Youth Movement in the early 1980s. Since 1982, he has worked as a freelance author and director. Today, Samir is internationally recognized for his fiction, documentary, and experimental films — many of which have received major festival recognition and awards.

His filmography includes over 40 feature-length and short films, including the award-winning Forget Baghdad (2002), Iraqi Odyssey (2014), and Baghdad in My Shadow (2019).

Recent works include Stranger in My Village and The Miraculous Transformation of the Working Class into Foreigners (2023). Samir also co-manages Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion, a Zurich-based company supporting emerging Swiss talent. As a director and producer, he is also active in theater and visual arts.

His productions include White Terror (2005), Fraulein (2006), Operation Libertad (2012), and the upcoming Al Basser.