Raouf Zaki, originally from Egypt and based in Massachusetts for 34 years, wrote and directed several internationally awarded independent films. Santa Claus in Baghdad, described by the New York Times as a “miracle in filmmaking” for turning Boston into Baghdad, is used in hundreds of schools in the United States with a study guide developed by Harvard University. His most recent film, Fireflies, a film without dialog and winner of the Boston Film Festival, received the Sumner Redstone award at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles.