Sara is a Yemeni-Scottish film director, screenwriter, and trainer. Born in Scotland and raised in Yemen, she is currently based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where she manages the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk - a non-profit organization co-founded in 2021 by IDFA, IFFR and the European Film Academy - to advocate for filmmakers facing severe threats worldwide.

Sara graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2007 with an MA (Honours) in Humanities, majoring in Theology, Middle Eastern Politics, and International Law. After several years freelancing for the BBC, she pursued an MFA in Film Directing at the Edinburgh College of Art (University of Edinburgh), completing her studies in 2012. During this period, she documented Yemen’s 2011 “Arab Spring” uprising for international media outlets including BBC News, Avaaz, and Channel 4, and directed two independent films: her debut short documentary Karama Has No Walls (2012) and her feature documentary The Mulberry House (2013).

Karama Has No Walls was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short and a BAFTA Scotland New Talent Award in 2014. The Mulberry House premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) in 2013, winning several international awards and later broadcasting on Al Jazeera English.

Between 2017 and 2025, Sara co-wrote, developed, and directed her first fiction feature film, The Station, which was selected for L’Atelier de la Cinéfondation, Festival de Cannes 2020, supported by various international funds, and awarded the La Biennale di Venezia Prize 2025 at the Venice Film Festival for Best Film in Post-Production. The Station is slated for release in early 2026.

In parallel with her filmmaking, Sara began teaching film in Yemen in the wake of the 2015 war, leading to the creation of Comra (2017–2023) - a film foundation and academy that nurtured more than 70 emerging Yemeni filmmakers. Since Comra Academy closed in 2023, she has continued producing Yemeni films through her company Setara Films, while also running independent mentorship programs via the Amsterdam-based non-profit Marsa Foundation, which she co-founded in 2020.

Sara has served as a jury member and chair at leading film festivals and funds including IDFA, BFI London Film Awards, BBC Arab Film Festival, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC), and the IDFA Bertha Fund, among others.