Yassin Koptan
Yassin Koptan is an Egyptian filmmaker from Alexandria and a Kitchen Films co-founder. His early skateboarding videos led into filmmaking, and he later studied at the New York Film Academy.
Explore their workShort film · 12:49
Piece of Wood
One skateboard. Two friends. A film by Yassin Koptan.
Watch the film on YouTube
Watch the film on YouTube Full film · Opens on YouTube
01 / The story
A simple plan to get it back.
Two friends try to recover a confiscated skateboard. A short film by Yassin Koptan.
Adam wants to land a skateboard trick at the mall. When a security guard confiscates his board, he and his friend George must find a way to recover it. A short film by Yassin Koptan, presented by Figleaf Studios and Kitchen Films.
- Format
- Short film
- Running time
- 12:49
- Filmmaker
- Yassin Koptan
- Channel release
- 2 October 2018
- YouTube views · as of October 21, 2026
- 12,150
02 / Behind the camera
Meet the filmmaker.
03 / More from the film
Around the work.
Screenplays, production photographs, cast and making-of notes are added as they are verified. Here is what this page holds today.
- Scripts & documents
Before the frame.
4 project documents to read and download.
Explore the documents - Behind the scenes
Between takes.
Behind-the-scenes photographs have not been added to this page.
Not on this page yet - Cast
On screen.
3 people credited on screen.
Meet the cast - Making of
Behind the story.
3 notes on how the film was made.
Read the notes
04 / Project documentsFrom page
From page
to screen.
Project materials shared by Yassin Koptan. These documents contain story spoilers.
StoryboardScene 2 — Storyboard sample
Four hand-drawn panels showing skateboard action, George behind the camera and Adam preparing to take off.
Floor planScene 4 — Floor-plan sample
A scene-planning diagram marking camera positions and the arrangement of the set.
05 / On screen
The cast.
06 / Making the film
Behind the story.
Rooted in skateboarding
In his 2018 interview, Koptan described the story as inspired by his own skateboarding experiences in Egypt. He made it as his graduation project.
Read the sourceThe visual team
Cinematographer Mina Nabil’s portfolio credits him with both photography and colour grading, and lists Mark Lotfy as producer. The project brings together Kitchen Films and Fig Leaf Studios.
Read the sourceFestival screening
Piece of Wood was included in Zawya’s 2017 short-film festival selection, before its Kitchen Films YouTube release in 2018.
Read the sourceMade together.
- A film by
- Yassin Koptan
- Presented by
- Figleaf Studios · Kitchen Films
- In association with
- Skateimpact.com · Massar Egbari · Prince of Arabia Entertainment
- Producer
- Mark Lotfy
- Director of photography & colour grading
- Mina Nabil
Sources & further reading 7 references
Release and profile information is drawn from the sources below. Photo sources are credited alongside the images.
- Yassin Koptan — NYFA interview — checked
- Yassin Koptan — firsthand interview — checked
- Piece of Wood — cinematographer portfolio — checked
- Zawya Short Film Festival — 2017 selection — checked
- Yassin Koptan — SAHARA Magazine author profile — checked
- Piece of Wood — IMDb full cast and crew — checked
- Yassin Koptan — project documents on Behance — checked
Spend a little time in this world.
Watch the film on YouTube
