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Hammad Zaidi, a disabled kid with a rail-thin left arm, a useless hand, and a cowboy limp, watched a documentary on the clubbing of harp seals with his little sister Mona. All snow-white pups perished except for one called “The Lonely Seal.” The name stuck, as did Hammad’s intent to make the world a better place. A few decades and several charitable endeavors later, from limping door-to-door to wrangle donations for the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon in the 1970s to donating to his alma mater UCLA for nearly 30 years and several multiple-year contributions to film festivals, including Slamdance, SXSW, Nashville, and the Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee – Hammad’s mission has always been to do his part in making to the world a better place to live.
Hammad started judging film festivals in the 1990s. His first opportunity was at Flickerfest in Bondi Beach, Australia, in 1997, a timeless experience where he and his fellow judges would dive into the ocean between screenings. From there, Hammad became a Judge, World Cinema Screener, Filmmaker Advisor, Panelist, Screenwriting Contest Founder/Judge, Program Curator, Advisory Board Member, and/or sponsor at several film festivals, including Sundance, Slamdance, SXSW, and Nashville.
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In 2005, Hammad launched Lonely Seal Releasing, a distribution company that attends significant film markets and festivals to buy and sell cinema. The move made Hammad one of about 2,750 content buyers worldwide.
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MARKETS AND FESTIVALS ATTENDED
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Hammad Zaidi has produced and written films, TV shows, and video games. He has also written 300+ articles through his weekly film industry column, Going Bionic. He served as a journalist in the Cannes Press Corps for multiple years and became a member of the Producers Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America.
Lonely Seal Streaming was built to keep our film festival going through the pandemic-related public closures of 2020. Now, we’re here to stay. We welcome you to join our mission to “tell stories aching to be told” to help improve the world.
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