Palestinian-Canadian multidisciplinary artist and educator based in Montreal, Canada and Bethlehem, Palestine. Her work deals with the effects of settler colonial violence on peoples, land, and other non-human life in colonized territories. Nazzal’s photography, video, sound, and installation works have been exhibited and screened in Palestine, across Canada, and internationally. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Concordia University in Montreal.
Vibrations from Gaza is a short documentary that offers a glimpse into the resilience and survival of Palestinian Deaf children in Gaza, who are enduring Israel’s siege and frequent military onslaught.
The camera's eye returns obsessively to the same places, a vertical perspective that imposes control, the possession of archaeological sites, stones lying for thousands years in the desert. The places it observes, however, are not deserted: we see, as if glimpsed from afar, the peasants working the land, themselves transformed into landscape. Something disturbs the stillness of the place: explosions on land and in the sea prepare the ground for new cities with new names, new forests.
This landscape is transformed into a scenography of appropriation.
Forming an imagery of complex memory, archive, story, and imagination, this film is a learnt way to place my existence within a narrative. And so, I look for the scents they carry in the jasmine vines.
Animation: Carine Zahner
Music: Carol Ibrahim (Violin), Mostafa Saad (Oud)
Editor: Sonya Mwambu
Sound Design: Nada El-Omari
Mike Elsherif is an award-winning Palestinian-American writer and director who immigrated to America from Kuwait following the Persian Gulf War. His films deal with themes of displacement, mortality, and the immigrant experience. He was recently awarded the Sunbird Stories Award by FilmLab Palestine and the 40 Under 40 Award by Arab America Foundation.
Laila, a Palestinian-American drummer, visits her grandmother in her new apartment during a powerful storm under the guise of helping her unpack. But her nefarious goals slowly unfold as they delve deeper into the mystical night full of Turkish coffee fortune readings, maqluba, and past trauma. The film is a macabre fable about two generations of immigrants struggling to deal with displacement, life in the diaspora, and mortality.
a 22-year-old filmmaker passionate about storytelling. Graduating in 2022/2023 after studying design at Birzeit University, she has always been drawn to films and videos. Her background includes crafting videos, even trying my hand at stop-motion animation videos . Now, as a recent graduate, she has taken the leap into film directing.
A journey inside Gilboa prison reveals the recurring events during the escape operation of six prisoners from within the most fortified prison in the world.
Director and Producer: Bayan Shaheen.
Cast: Salim Asbah, Andrea Abukhader, Faris Rinawi.
Sound: Mohammad Azza.
Photography Assistant: Anas Mara.
Supervision: Aamer Abumatar.
Special Thanks to Nayef Shaqur.
One of the first hijabi American-Muslim filmmakers in the nation, Iman has worked on numerous films that played at over 150 venues worldwide. She’s an Emmy-award winner, Princess Grace Award recipient, a Lincoln Center Artist Academy Fellow, and a Sundance Momentum Fellow. She is also the co-creator of the first American Muslim film grant with Islamic Scholarship Fund, where she currently serves as Director of Film Programs. Iman works to amplify underrepresented female voices and frequently consults and speaks across the nation on Muslims in film.
As Saamidah, a young Palestinian-American girl, anxiously starts her first day of school, she finds her identity in question when faced with a world map that doesn't include her homeland.
Scriptwriter: Rifk Ebeid & Iman Zawahry
Cast: Jannah Ebeid, Aizzah Fatima, Waseem Alzer
Music: Abed Hathot, Akram Haddad
Editor: Grace Ibrahim
Sound Designer: Barbaros Kaynak
Songs: El-Funoun Palestinian Dance Troupe
Producer: Rifk Ebeid