Since seeking asylum in Greece, Mr. Akbari has been a senior member of ReFOCUS Media Labs Collective, Greece where he currently serves as a creator, educator and mentor. Since completing his advanced certification in photography and video production Yaser has been leading new students in the same program he is a product of. It’s been extremely rewarding to help people in the same precarious and unstable situation he found himself when he arrived to Europe seeking asylum. Helping his students pursue the same dream has helped him refine his own skills and craft, and serves as a model of where they can end up if they remain dedicated.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Since starting to study visual storytelling with ReFOCUS Media Labs, Yaser looks at his environment differently. his perspective, depth and observation of the world around him has shifted dynamically, and has a major influence on how he creates art. an avid digital photographer, and filmmaker, Yaser has also started developing a passion and skill for analog photography.

Mr. Akbari has served as a contributing cinematographer on documentary films "Those Left Waiting", "Ghosts of Moria"; co-directed the documentary film "Nothing About Us Without Us"; served as Director of Photography on original music videos “INTERVIEW” FOR AFGHAN HIP HOP ARTIST MO HUSSEIN, AND DIRECTED “Erantzun'' for the Basque hip hop artist Zekan Askalari. YASER was also on the cinematography crew for narrative film "Dancing Bells" and DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY FOR "Dead End", BOTH FILMS FOR the “Stories that Matter”  film series with Movies that Matter Film Festival in the Netherlands.

MUSIC VIDEO

“ERANTZUN” (VANDALISMO) BY ZEKAN ASKALARI

“INTERVIEW” BY MO HOSSEIN

His photography and films have been exhibited internationally and PART OF numerous film festivals incluDING Movies That Matter Film Festival, CPH:DOX, Melbourne International, Clermont-Ferrand, Thessaloniki International and Human Rights Film Festival Berlin. Since 2020 YASER has been a contributing journalist on countless international reports from inside Moria camp on Lesvos regarding the political crisis on refugee policies with mainstream media partners including BBC News, AlJazeera, BBC Newsnight, SBS Dateline, Bloomberg News AND CNN.

DOC VIDEO

“NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US” (TEASER)

yaser also co-directed the documentary “Nothing About Us Without Us”; which advocates for a new standard of engagement between major media desks and the communities they report upon. the film, whcih was commissioned by allianz foundation as part of the annual berliner korrespondenzen debate sereis, had a world premiere at movies that matter film festival, nl in 2022.

“LESVOS: WHO STARTED THE FIRE AT EUROPE’S LARGEST REFUGEE CAMP?”-BBC NEWSNIGHT

visit our “reportage” page for more multimedia reports and documentary films that yaser and our citizen journalists have produced in collaboration with international media desks since 2020.