Azza El-Hassan

Azza El Hassan, born April 21, 1971, in Amman, Jordan is a Palestinian documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, producer and writer. Her documentary films, mostly, reflect her experience living in exile and her experience living in Palestine. One of her best known works is Zaman al-akhbar (2001).

Early life and education

El-Hassan was born April 21, 1971, in Amman, Jordon where her parents, originally from Palestine, lived in exile. In the same year, September 1971, her family had to move to Beirut, Lebanon due to the aftermath of Black September. Living in Beirut was also a difficult time for the family because they were also suffering from a civil war. Living in Beirut she did attend school, when the situation allowed and she also volunteered in hospitals and did a lot of work when the days there were very tough. At the age of eleven her family had to move back to Amman because of the war conditions in Beirut. Through all the tragedy and war going on around her, it left a massive mark in her mind which will later on have an impact on her work.

After high school El-Hassan made a big decision to study filmmaking and sociology between the years 1989 and 1993, a decision her parents were strongly against. She then went on to graduate from London University Goldsmith College in 1996 with an M.A in film and television documentary. Right after her graduation El-Hassan made another major decision in her life, to move to Palestine.

Career

After her graduation, El-Hassan made a decision to move and live in Ramallah, Palestine. When she moved she started her career in documentary film making, and with that she also went to find her identity as well. Being the daughter of Palestinian parents she needed find that part of herself due to the fact she lived in exile most of her life. The life she has lived, most of her work focuses on Palestinians that were born in exile and those who were born in Palestine.

She would turn on her camera and film people that were shot, film them being taken to the hospital and she would film their families as they buried them. In the beginning of her film career she would document the space she lived in and the emotion of each disaster she filmed. She started to notice that her documentaries resemble that of journalists and she wanted to change that because journalists only show the tragedy of the situation and never what people are making of the situation.

Maysun wa Majida (Arab Women Speak Out, 1997)

In this film, El-Hassan portraits two women, Maysun and Majida. Maysun is strongly against her father who is forcing her to marry at the age of sixteen. Her father is physically abusive towards her, which she endured while she is in school. When she is in university she falls in love with a man who is from the same village as her, named Nafez, and marries him against his families wishes. Nafez's family rejects her because she is a fairly educated woman; now Maysun and Nafez are still married with five children.

In the second story is about Majida who is struggling against Israeli occupation. While pregnant she is arrested, tortured and threatened to be raped by Israeli soldiers. After her imprisonment her husband divorces her because he considers imprisonment an act of dishonour. She is then shown to be married for the second time and to be empowering women she they can be aware of their rights and what they are capable of.

Koushan Mousa (Title Deeds from Moses, 1998)

Koushan Mousa (1998) is a film about the settlement policies in Israel. The filmmakers are witnessing the Israel occupied territories, with their cameras, after the Six Day War war which was in 1967. They start their trip at the western edge of the Arab East Jerusalem, Ma'aleh Adumim. Israel plans to expand their settlement onto Palestinian villages, plans that would kill people and ruin their homes. The Israeli people claim that God promised them this land long ago so it is now their right to take it from the Palestinians and ruin five of their villages.

Zaman al-akhbar (News Time, 2001)

Zaman al-akhbar is said to be one of her well known films. Whenever El-Hassan is trying to document her new film she is told that people do not need to see films, they need to be informed about the news. "Shot during the first few months of the second intifada, El-Hassan takes pictures of the dreary everyday life in Ramallah." She wanted to put picture side by side from the news and her filming to show that although there is destruction there is also so much love people have towards each other, there are also people out there making most of their situation. Although the situation being shown is tragic, she wants this film to reflect the pain people are suffering through and also their delightful moments.

Awards and nominations

• In 1999 her film Kousha Mousa (Title Deed from Moses) won the Best Documentary Film at the Independent Film Festival in London
• In 1999 her film Kousha Mousa (Title Deed from Moses) was nominated for the Ogawa Shinuske Prize at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
• In 2001 her film Zaman al-akhbat (News Time) won the Grierson Award for the Best Newcomer Film at the Jury Special Award at the Arab Screen Independent Film Festival
• In 2001 her film Zaman al-akhbat (News Time) was nominated for the Ogawa Shinsuke Prize at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival