Sarra El Abed

Press and communications professional with a background in Art History and a parallel artistic practice as a director. A decade of experience building press strategy and media relations across festivals, cultural publications, broadcast and contemporary art contexts, in Montréal, Tunis, Mexico City and international networks. Particular interest in brand storytelling at the intersection of design, craft and sensory experience.

Strong editorial judgment, hands-on media relations experience, first-hand leadership of production and creative teams, and a first-hand understanding of how artists develop, articulate and present their work — the perspective of someone who has run press campaigns from inside the work, not only around it.

Independent Filmmaker & Cultural Producer - Self-Employed

(2018 - present)

• Direct and lead production teams from development through delivery — hiring and managing department heads, crew and post-production collaborators, and holding creative and budgetary responsibility for each project.
• Develop positioning, press, distribution and audience-engagement strategies for documentary and fiction projects presented internationally.
• Write and edit project narratives, biographies, press materials, pitches, interview language and key messaging for festivals, funders, broadcasters and cultural partners.
• Managed press and distribution for Y'a pas d'heure pour les femmes, contributing to 80+ international festival selections, 20+ awards and acquisition by The New Yorker.
• Built relationships with international film press, critics and festival programmers through campaigns for Hot Docs, Clermont-Ferrand, DOK Leipzig and Slamdance — a media network now extending into contemporary art contexts.
• Collaborated with CBC/Radio-Canada marketing on positioning and promotional content for Les Collectionneurs, coordinating with producers and distributors on audience, tone and release strategy.

Art Direction, Styling & Floral Design — Freelance - Self-Employed

(2018 - present)

• Provide art direction and styling for various shoots — music videos, TV series and film productions — developing visual concepts, mood and set/wardrobe direction, including collaborations with singer Ariane Moffatt and the series Les Fourchettes.
• Provide floral design for private events and weddings, from concept to on-site execution.

Communications & Press Consultant — Freelance - Self-Employed

(2017 - 2022)

• Radio-Canada, On dira ce qu'on voudra (2022, two segments) — Presented two cultural segments on the show, translating creative work and cultural topics into accessible editorial content for broad audiences.
• RIDM — Montreal International Documentary Festival (2020 edition) — Supported digital communications, social media campaigns, festival communications and press-conference logistics.
• Nouveau Projet, Montréal (2019) — Wrote for the magazine and assisted the editor-in-chief on editorial development and production.
• ELLE Québec (2017, September issue) — Produced editorial content, conducted visual research and coordinated styling and production for the magazine's flagship issue.

Public Relations & Events - VROY COMMUNICATIONS

(2016 - 2017)

• Supported media relations, press monitoring and journalist outreach for clients across culture, publishing, fashion and lifestyle.
• Coordinated press events and launches, including a Vogue pop-up activation at Holt Renfrew, liaising with journalists, guests, partners and vendors.

Artist-in-Residence - Cité Internationale des Arts, Montmartre - PARIS

(2026-09 - 2026-10)

Two-month residency dedicated to writing, research and the development of an interdisciplinary literary project exploring memory, migration and place.

Artistic Project Assistant - Dream City / L'Art Rue Tunis - TUNIS

(2022 - 2022)

Assisted with Fragments de feu, a choreographic, sound and visual work by Radhouane El Meddeb, supporting the artistic and production team during its presentation across multiple sites in Tunis.

Exhibition Assistant - Phosphore Creative District - TUNIS

(2022 - 2023)

Assisted artist Fatma Mourali during exhibitions and artistic programming, supporting exhibition preparation, coordination and on-site presentation.

Bachelor's Degree - Communication — Media Creation and Cinema - UQAM (2015 - 2018)

Major - Art History - Concordia University (2013 - 2015)