Maissa Houri

Maissa Houri (she/her) is an Arab-Canadian award-winning independent filmmaker and ACTRA and UDA actor based out of Ottawa, Canada. Maissa attended Montreal’s Vanier College Theatre and Film Program and is a current graduate from Algonquin College’s Social Media Certificate Program. She is passionate about telling stories from the perspective of being an Arab-Canadian. Maissa is the Director of Equity Initiatives for the Digi60 Filmmakers’ Festival and is committed to fostering inclusivity and growth within the local filmmaking community. In a few short years, Maissa released an award-winning web series, short films and has been actively producing, writing, directing, and acting. Out of thousands of candidates, Maissa was chosen to be part of Netflix-Banff’s Diversity of Voices Initiative for the Banff World Media Festival in 2023 and was recently voted as ACTRA Ottawa’s Woman of the Year 2024. Currently, Maissa is in pre-development for her new television comedy series THE ARRANGED MARRIAGE with GAPC Entertainment and Vérité Films which received CMF funding; and her new webseries TOUCH. When she’s not on set, you can find her at home reading smutty romance novels or spending time with her husband and two young daughters.