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PERSONAL DETAILS
97
  • First Name Alaa
  • Surname Alhussan
  • Country of Origin Jordan
  • Country of Residence Jordan

Biography

Ala is a Palestinian Jordanian anthropologist and filmmaker, raised in Saudi Arabia in 1989. Her work explores the relationship between memory and place, and her films pivot around the themes of identity, feminism, gender, faith, and politics. In 2017, she went back to school to receive her MA in Ethnographic and Documentary film from University College London, Graduate School of Anthropology, where she produced/directed shot, and edited her latest 28 minutes documentary "Not Just a Piece of Cloth". The film has been selected and screened in multiple programs and is still in the festival circuit. Before that, Ala worked in Advertising where she produced several TV commercials and videos for NGOs. Ala is currently a freelance self-shooting director/producer and editor.

PROFESSIONAL DETAILS

Filmography

'You Are Not Alone' (2018) - 2:36 minutes Depression will be the world’s number 1 disability by 2020 based on the World Health Organization statistics and studies. People have started paying more attention to their mental health, however, not quite enough in the MENA region, or at least not fast enough. This short piece is an attempt to let you in on the lives and minds of some of those struggling with depression, or for whoever is in depression to not feel alone in this battle, to know that there are others on the same boat and that they need not be afraid to reach out. ‘Not Just a Piece of Cloth’ (2017) - 28:27 minute A participatory film that explores issues of gender, tradition, modesty, and politics. The filmmaker's own decision of taking off the Hijab is used as an introduction to the narratives of multiple women, of differing ages and contexts, discussing their personal and varied perspectives on the outlined issues. The film shows the complexity of identity and faith, as well as family and culture. ‘Hidden Words’ (2017) - 7:50 minute Hidden Words is a short documentary about the Baha’i faith and some members of its community, the hardships they faced and still facing due to the systematic oppression held against them. The main theme of the film is the notion of being ‘othered’. 'Where Are You From?' (2017) - 6:48 minutes We live in a time where we yearn to think of humanity in terms of world citizens, in equality and peace. However, as long as resistance to Israeli occupation is required, and as long as we are still stopped or cannot even return to our homes because we are originally 'Palestinian', it becomes necessary to affirm our Palestinian identity. 'Deep Frying' (2016) - 7:00 minutes This piece of observation was meant to be the story of a PhD holder in Philosophy, who happened to also be working at a Fish & Chip shop in London. After having worked at the Chippy to observe, I fell in love with the conversations that happen there, and I decided to avoid the fetishism of this juxtaposition, and instead focus on the day to day interactions. I began to realize that what is interesting about 'The Philosopher in the Chip Shop' is the fact that his academic credentials are unknown to the customers. In these little random moments, it's no longer a Philosopher working in a Chippy, it's philosophy through the Chippy and everyday life. Real free thinking can occur anywhere, it just depends on a person's openness to it. The inversion that of philosophy as serious and inaccessible, to the philosophy we do in everyday life and through everyday language. PS. This was taken the day after Trump was elected for US presidency.

Position / Profession

  • Assistant Director
  • Assistant Producer
  • Cinematographer
  • Director
  • Editor
  • Producer
  • Education level Master's Degree
  • Years of experience 7
  • Employment Freelance
  • Company Name Freelance
  • Year of service 14 months
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