Ace Mahbaz is a Deaf director, writer, and actor born in Iran, shaped by Germany, and now making films from London. His work is shaped by a life lived across cultures and languages, rooted in Deaf identity, Iranian heritage, and European storytelling. Fluent in six sign languages, he brings a rare visual perspective to everything he makes.

His debut short as writer-director, A Familiar Stranger (2025), has screened at 16 festivals internationally, including Slamdance Film Festival, London Short Film Festival, Encounters Film Festival, and HollyShorts. It won Best Screenwriter at Festival Clin d’Oeil 2026, the Audience Award at Corto in Corte, and placed second at the Ostfriesischer Kurzfilmpreis at International Filmfest Emden-Norderney. He is currently developing the story into his debut feature.

Ace also co-created Small World, the world's first sign language sitcom, and has produced and directed for German broadcaster BR's long-running factual series Sehen statt Hören since 2016.

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His second short as writer-director, Silencers, is a dark comedy in active development with Slick Films, with a proof-of-concept shoot planned for October 2026. Ace also co-created Small World, the world’s first sign-language sitcom, and has produced and directed for German broadcaster BR’s long-running factual series Sehen statt Hören since 2016.