21. Building Worlds on Screen: Mounia Akl on Architecture, Film & Netflix's House of Guinness

This week’s Muse is Mounia Akl, Lebanese director, writer, and (sometimes) actress whose work blurs the line between structure and emotion.Trained as an architect before turning to film, Mounia built her voice through stories rooted in Beirut before stepping onto Global sets, including directing episodes of Steven Knight’s House of Guinness on Netflix.We talk about her first time on set, how architecture still shapes her eye for storytelling, and what it truly means to direct before, during, and long after the camera rolls. She shares how Beirut, I Love You became her unexpected film school, the courage it took to leave the safe path - a leap that would later lead to her debut feature Costa Brava, Lebanon - and how acting in A Sad and Beautiful World by Cyril Aris reconnected her with emotion and uncertainty.And then, The House of Guinness, the 19th-century drama that had audiences (and myself) holding their breath. We talk about building tension in silence, the challenge of stepping into a world not her own, and the infamous cliffhanger that left even her friends demanding answers.This is a conversation about creative risk, emotional truth, and the invisible architecture behind every story.LINKS:Follow Mounia here: https://www.instagram.com/mounia.akl/Check out Mounia's work here: https://www.mouniaakl.com/work-1Follow Seat of the Muse socials here:https://www.instagram.com/seatofthemusepodcast/https://www.tiktok.com/@yourhostcarine