May 7, 2020

Mizna At Home: Virtual Cinema Filmmaker Bios

Filmmakers included in Mizna’s May Virtual Cinema Series

• Suliman Elnour (Wa Lakin Alardh Tadur / It Still Rotates / ولكن الأرض تدور) was born in 1947 and is a Sudanese filmmaker and writer. He studied folklore, and African and Asian studies at the University of Khartoum and film at Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, Moscow. He is a founding member of the Sudanese Film Group and a member of the editorial board of the magazine Cinema.
  
• Amber Fares (Speed Sisters) is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and photographer. Her feature-length directorial debut Speed Sisters, premiered at Hot Docs in 2015, where it was one of the top 20 in the Audience Choice Awards. It won the Audience Award at the Irish Film Institute Festival and is currently playing in film festivals around the world. Fares’ political approach to storytelling is driven by the belief that personal stories can help viewers connect to larger social issues. She has worked with organizations like UNRWA, Defence for Children International, and Amnesty International and is the co-founder of SocDoc Studios, which produces story-driven films that explore political topics.
  
• Eltayeb Mahdi (Al Dhareeh / The Tomb / الضريح and Al Mahatta / The Station / المحطة) was born in Omdurman, Sudan, in 1951 and studied at the Higher Institute of Cinema in Cairo. He is a founding member of the Sudanese Film Group and a member of the editorial board of the magazine Cinema.
  
• Dina Naser (Tiny Souls) is a Jordanian filmmaker of Palestinian roots. Following her passion for filmmaking, she was granted a scholarship for DOCNOMADS Mobile Documentary School’s two-year MA programme in Lisbon, Budapest, and Brussels. She worked her way through a variety of television and film productions until she began to direct and produce independently. Her works are inspired by stories from her homeland and by refugee narratives. Tiny Souls is Naser’s first feature-length documentary.
  
• Ibrahim Shaddad (Jamal / A Camel / جمل) was born in Halfa, Sudan, in 1945 and studied at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF. He has written and directed many films and plays. Practically all films and plays in Sudan were discontinued by producers or banned by governments. He is a founding member of the Sudanese Film Group and a member of the editorial board of the magazine Cinema.