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2019

Dima Abu Ghoush

Dima Abu Ghoush started as a short story writer, and worked as an English Literature teacher and translator before she turned to filmmaking. She was awarded the Chevening Scholarship in 2002 and thus pursued her MA in Film & TV Production at the University of Bristol. She has made several documentaries as a freelancer before she, in 2005, co-founded Collage Productions, an independent production house based in Palestine. Dima’s documentaries were selected for several film festivals, and some were screened on Arab and European TV channels.

Mette Hoffmann Meyer

Mette Hoffmann Meyer is a Danish CEO and co-founder of the Why Foundation, a Peabody Award-Winning, public media organization that aims to support sustainable development by securing free access to reliable information for all citizens. The Why produces and distributes media content dealing with human rights and sustainable development, reaching hundreds of millions of people across the globe. Mette has worked with documentary film for nearly 30 years, and is the former Head of Documentaries and Co-Productions at the Tanish public service broadcaster.

Monica Maurer

Monica Maurer is a German filmmaker and writer with a degree in Sociology and Communication Sciences. She did TV features, wrote for several newspapers, and was Assistant Director of SALOMÈ (1972), after which she started directing and producing films independently. In her projects, Monica focuses on political activism. All her films won awards and screened worldwide, including PALESTINE RED CRESCENT (’78), CHILDREN OF PALESTINE (’79), THE FIFTH WAR (‘80), BORN OUT OF DEATH (‘81), and PALESTINE IN FLAMES (‘88).

Abbas 36

Synopsis
Two Palestinian families, Rafa and Abu-Ghaida, have lived in the same house on 36 Abbas Street in Haifa. It is the present for the Rafa family and the past for the Abu-Ghaida family. The film documents Nidal Rafa’s search for the house’s original owners, and Dina Abu Ghaida’s efforts to return and retrieve part of her family home.

Marwah Jbara-Tibi

Marwa Jbara-Tibi (1969, Taybeh, Palestine) is a Palestinian journalist and filmmaker. She has ample experience in production and has worked for several media outlets including CNN, the Canadian TV Middle East Bureau (CTV), and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). She is Founder and General Manager of Zainab Productions and was General Manager of the local Transmedia Production Company. Marwa has also had research contributions, particularly on issues related to human rights. Her films, including ABBAS 36, have gained prominence and were broadcast on Al Jazeera.  

Sameer Qumsiyeh

Sameer Qumsiyeh is a Palestinian filmmaker based in Beit Sahour. He is a graduate of the Documentary Film Production Program of Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture. He has extensive experience in editing and has worked on several award-winning films including LOVE, THEFT AND OTHER ENTANGLEMENTS (2015) and THE REPORTS ON SARAH AND SALEEM (2018). Sameer has also worked as videographer, sound recorder, and DIT on several productions including National Geographic, ZDF, and MBC Group.