NAJWA NAJJAR
Writer/ Director Najwa Najjar received her BA in Political Science and Economics, MA in Film (US). She has worked in both documentary and fiction.
Her first coproduced fictional film was the critically acclaimed multi award-winning debut Pomegranates and Myrrh (2008). Her second award-winning feature film Eyes of a Thief (2014) was the Palestinian nomination for the 2015 Oscars Best Foreign Film and the Golden Globe Awards. Her third feature Son of a Very Important Man is currently in post-production.
Her previous work includes other award-winning documentaries and shorts which have screened worldwide (Berlin, Cannes, Locarno, Hamptons): Yasmine Tughani (2006) , Naim and Wadee’a (2000), Quintessence of Oblivion (2001), Blue Gold (2004), A Boy Called Mohamad (2002) and They Came from the East which opened the European Film Awards in 2004. Najjar has also produced a collection of short films by international filmmakers Gaza Winter (2009).
In 2002 Hani Kort and Najwa Najjar established Ustura Films Ltd. in Ramallah, Palestine. The production company’s mission is to create alternative narratives, develop the budding local cinema industry and support artists in the field. In 2012 Kort and Najjar registered another branch of the company in Amman, Jordan.
