Ziad’s work has earned over forty awards and accolades for directing, producing, and writing, including the Kennedy Center  Achievement Award, The Chairman’s Award from Who’s Who Among Outstanding Americans for his contribution to theatre arts, and the Medal of Honor from the Damascus International Film Festival. Most recently, ziad’s film Woman earned the GOLDEN PALM Award from the 2008 Beverly Hills Film Festival. Ziad’s upcoming film !Henry O!, is the true story of a blind immigrant who accomplished an impossible dream while becoming an inspirational figure  in baseball and life.  !Henry O! began its festival release in April, 2009 and so far it has garnered three awards including the audience choice award for Best Documentary from the Beverly Hills Film Festival, The Accolades award for excellence in film, and best of fest of Latin Cinema from Breckenridge Film Festival.   

Currently Ziad is developing his feature film epic Asmahan about a Druze princess with eyes so green they shone through the black-and-white screen, and men fell madly in love. A spy for the British, perhaps for the French, and like any good cult figure, she died young in a suspicious auto accident. Asmahan is an exotic woman striding across the cultural barriers.  

Ziad’s other work includes the AFI premier of The Letter: An American Town And The “Somali Invasion”, his controversial, multi-award winning feature-length documentary about the influx of black Muslim U.S. immigrants in a post 9/11 world.  The Letter garnered powerful reviews and won numerous awards such as the Boston International Film Festival’s Indie Spirit for Best Feature Documentary; it was honored as the opening film of the 2004 Amnesty International Film Festival.  Ziad’s award-winning feature film Shadow Glories took (Best of Festival/Best Feature Film: Dances With Films Festival; Best Feature Film: Woods Hole Film Festival; Grand Prize for Editing: Rhode Island International Film Festival), His award winning film PlayByPlayMen and the art of the perfect call received the 32 NFVF’s Best feature Documentary 2007 honors,  and his romantic drama Eternal Embrace took  best of fest.

In Los Angeles, Ziad created two extraordinary theatres: The Open Fist Theatre and The Egyptian Arena.  As artistic director of these award-winning venues, Ziad brought to the LA theatre community many prestigious international names such as Arrabel, Artue, Beckett, Brecht, Churchill, Gretzky, and Lorca.  He directed and produced over sixty major award winning stage productions, among them Roxy Ventola’s After The Bomb, Brecht’s Baal, Sam Shephard’s True West, Arrabel’s Car Cemetery, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Fassbinder’s The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant, Tennessee Williams’ Vieux Carre, Nicholas Kazan’s Blood Moon, Poor Murderer, The Architect and Empress of Assyria, Cinders, Low Level Panic, and Dusa, Fish, Stas, and Vi.  

Ziad has mentored and empowered numerous artists.  Burr Steers (17 again, Igby goes Down)  Tony Spiridakis ( queens Logic) Dalene Young (Cross Creek, Pale Rider Pale Horse, Little Darlings) Juan Carlos Valdivia (Juno and The Pink Whale, American Visa) are among many artists mentored by Ziad.  They found a haven for their creative powers when joining Ziad at The Open Fist.  Ziad teaches aspiring graduate and undergraduate students in directing, acting, and writing for film at Maine Media for Film and Television Workshops for the past 15 years as well as serving as a member of the MFA faculty at Rockport College, and a member of the National Advisor Board of Maine Media.

Ziad earned an MFA in Directing from California State University, Fullerton; an MA in Writing and Criticism from California State University, Los Angeles; and a BA in Theatre from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.