Joe Hattab
Joe Hattab is a Jordanian travel filmmaker sharing Arabic documentaries about people, cultures and everyday life around the world.
At 100 nudges, fangea sends Joe’s team an official invite.
🔒 Star boosts open once Joe claims this page.
Latest
Joe’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
- Inside CECOT prison2025 · Filmmaker and presenter
YouTube - The drug crisis in Philadelphia2025 · Filmmaker and presenter
YouTube - China’s robots, smart cities and AI2025 · Filmmaker and presenter
YouTube - La Rinconada, Peru2025 · Filmmaker and presenter
YouTube - Shipbreakers of Bangladesh2021 · Filmmaker and presenter
YouTube
Overview
- Name
- Jehad Hattab, known as Joe Hattab
- Roots
- Born in Jordan and raised in Saudi Arabia
- Based in
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Started traveling full time
- 2016
- Early milestone
- More than nine million YouTube subscribers by December 2021
Mini bio
How it started.
In 2016, Joe left his corporate job with $15,000 in savings and a one-way ticket to Asia. His early backpacking videos came from hostels in Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. He wanted to make carefully filmed stories in Arabic for an audience he felt was being overlooked.
Finding his audience.
His travel videos grew into documentaries about people and places, including Bangladesh’s shipbreaking yards. By December 2021, Esquire reported more than nine million YouTube subscribers and a billion channel views.
The work today.
His films take fans inside places such as El Salvador’s CECOT prison, Peru’s high-altitude city of La Rinconada and China’s technology industry. His 2026 releases explore Sherpa life, island communities, Oman and the Philippines, often with local guides and collaborators.
Creditschronological, newest first
- 2026I Spent 7 Days With the SherpasFilmmaker and presenter
- 2026The Most Underrated Country in the World | OmanFilmmaker and presenter
- 2025Inside CECOT prison, El SalvadorFilmmaker and presenter
- 2021Shipbreakers of BangladeshFilmmaker and presenter
Awards
Quotes
The audience always appreciates it when you go that one extra mile in the video.Joe Hattab, Esquire Middle East
In his December 2021 interview, Joe explained why he seeks challenging stories and puts extra work into filming and editing.
Trivia
- Japan is a favorite filming destination: he told Esquire he admires its organization and work ethic.
- He told Esquire that family, faith and giving back matter most to him.
- His 2026 island documentary combines the Faroe Islands, Socotra and St Helena in one film.
Find Joe
Follow Joe’s films and the journeys behind them.
Are you Joe Hattab?
Fans built this page. Claim it to connect with them and unlock Star boosts, or request a takedown if you’d rather it not exist.