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Rana Kazkaz
Born
May 4, 1971
Occupation
Filmmaker & Professor
Website
ranakazkaz.com Filmmakerranakazkaz.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Filmmakerranakazkaz.jpg)
Rana Kazkaz | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 4, 1971 |
| Occupation | Filmmaker & Professor |
| Website | ranakazkaz.com |
Rana Kazkaz (born May 4, 1971) is a Syrian-American filmmaker and professor. Her films have received numerous international awards and selections, such as at Cannes, Sundance, TIFF, and Tribeca. She is also an associate professor at Northwestern University in Qatar where she teaches narrative filmmaking. [1]
Kazkaz was born in Grenoble, France to a Syrian father and a Polish-American mother. She has lived in France, Syria, the United States, Algeria, Russia, Lebanon, Jordan, and Qatar.
She holds a joint MFA from Carnegie Mellon University and the Moscow Art Theater, and a BA from Oberlin College.
A member of the Académie des César, she has received a certificate from American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women, [2] and has been awarded fellowships with the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, [3] Ryan Murphy's Half Initiative, and MacDowell.
Her film portfolio highlights Syrian stories, which began in 2007 with Kemo Sabe, [4] a story about an Arab-American boy who wishes to be a Cowboy instead of an Indian on the playground. Her film Deaf Day tells the story of a mother living in Damascus, who wishes to teach her son how to live in a hearing world, but is instead reminded of the value of silence. Mare Nostrum [5] [6] depicts a father on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea who risks his daughter's life to save her. The film won over 35 international awards, and was selected in over 100 festivals worldwide, including Sundance and Dubai International Film Festival. [7] Searching for the Translator (2016) documents an acting workshop where Syrian refugees are provided a safe environment to explore their emotions of fear and courage. Her first feature film, The Translator, is about a man who finds his voice during the Syrian Revolution. [8] [9]
| Year | Title | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The Translator | Feature |
| 2016 | Mare Nostrum | Short |
| 2016 | Searching for the Translator | Documentary |
| 2011 | Deaf Day | Short |
| 2007 | Kemo Sabe | Short |
Kazkaz co-founded Synéastes Films in 2010 alongside Anas Khalaf, focusing on creating films that highlight stories from the Middle East. Their internationally co-produced works include Mare Nostrum, Deaf Day, and The Translator. Synéastes Films has garnered support from renowned institutions such as the Cannes Cinéfondation, the European Union, British Council, Arte and more. Currently, they have several feature films in development. [10]
In the Company of Men is a 1997 American black comedy film, written and directed by Neil LaBute and starring Aaron Eckhart, Matt Malloy, and Stacy Edwards. The film, which was adapted from a play written by LaBute, and served as his feature film debut, won him the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay.
Mare Nostrum is a 1926 American silent war drama film directed by Rex Ingram. It was the first production made by Ingram while in voluntary exile and stars Ingram's wife, Alice Terry. The film is set during World War I, and follows a Spanish merchant sailor who becomes involved with a German spy. It is based on the novel of the same name by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez. Long thought lost, the film has recently been re-discovered and restored.
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Amanda Palmer is an Australian-English media and film executive and international journalist, whose 18-year-career in film and media entertainment, content creation and entertainment platforms has spanned Australia, Britain, United States and the Middle East.
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Irene Taylor is a film director and producer.
Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q), also known as Northwestern Qatar, is Northwestern University’s campus in Education City, Doha, Qatar, founded in partnership with the Qatar Foundation in 2008.
Return is a 2011 independent film about an American reservist, wife and mother returning home from her tour of duty in the Middle East. The film was written and directed by Liza Johnson, and stars Linda Cardellini, Michael Shannon and John Slattery. It is Johnson's first feature-length film, and received good reviews at its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival Directors' Fortnight. Linda Cardellini was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in the film.
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Diana El Jeiroudi, is a Berlin-based, Syrian independent film director and producer. El Jeiroudi’s films as director were celebrated at many festivals, including the Venice Film Festival, IDFA, DokLeipzig, Visions du Réel, CPH:DOX… among others. Her producing credits include the Sundance 2023 film 5 Seasons of Revolution, the Cannes Film Festival 2014 selection Silvered Water, the IDFA 2013 selection The Mulberry House, among others. She was the first Syrian to be a juror in Cannes Film Festival in 2014, when she was part of the first Documentary Film Award jury in the festival. Together with her partner Orwa Nyrabia, El Jeiroudi was also the first Syrian known to be invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2017. El Jeiroudi was also a co-founder of DOX BOX International Documentary Film Festival in Syria and DOX BOX e.V. non-profit association in Germany.
Adastra Films is a film production and distribution company based in Cannes, France. It was founded in March 2008 by Sébastien Aubert and David Guiraud. It produces movies by French and international directors.
Jennifer Phang is an American filmmaker, most known for her feature films Advantageous (2015) and Half-Life (2008). Advantageous premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, winning a Special Jury Award for Collaborative Vision, and was based on her award-winning short film of the same name. Half-Life premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and won "Best Film" awards at a number of film festivals including the Gen Art Film Festival, the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival as well an "Emerging Director Award" at the Asian American International Film Festival.
The Little Hours is a 2017 American medieval black comedy film written and directed by Jeff Baena. The film is loosely based on the first and second stories of day three of ten of The Decameron, a collection of novellas by Giovanni Boccaccio, a 14th-century Italian writer. It stars an ensemble cast featuring Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, Aubrey Plaza, John C. Reilly, and Molly Shannon.
Tracy Rector is an American filmmaker, curator, and arts advocate based in Seattle, Washington. She is the executive director and co-founder of Longhouse Media, an Indigenous and POC media arts organization and home of the nationally acclaimed program Native Lens. She has worked as an education consultant at the Seattle Art Museum, as a native naturalist for the Olympic Sculpture Park, and has developed curriculum for IslandWood, an environmental education center.
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The Translator is a feature film directed by Rana Kazkaz and Anas Khalaf. The film was produced with the support of Doha Film Institute's financing grants and has won many awards including the Cannes Film Festival's L'Atelier de la Cinefondation in 2017, the CNC Award at the Istanbul Film Festival's Meetings on the Bridge in 2017, and a Tribeca Alumni Grant in 2018 amongst others.
Mare Nostrum is a 2016 short, coming-of-age film directed by the Syrian-American filmmakers Rana Kazkaz and Anas Khalaf. The 14-minute long film received a number of awards. A wordless film, it deals with the issue of refugees crossing the Mediterranean.
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