Personal Info
- Country of residence: United States
Information
Omar al-Qattan (born 4 May 1964) is
a British-Palestinian director, producer and cultural development expert.
his upbringing
Omar Al-Qattan was born in Beirut,
Lebanon to parents of Palestinian nationality. His father, Abdul Mohsen
al-Qattan, came from Jaffa, from which his family fled along with thousands of
Arab families as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, becoming Palestinian
refugees. His mother, Laila Darwish al-Miqdadi, whose origins go back to
Tulkarm, also fled because of the 1948 war. Omar's parents met and married in
Kuwait, who started their careers as teachers. Omar's father, Abdul Mohsen,
later worked as a responsible manager for the Kuwaiti government and who later
founded a private contracting company. His family obtained Kuwaiti citizenship
in 1964 AD before moving to Beirut in 1975 AD, where Omar lived until he was
eleven years old. In 1975, the Lebanese Civil War broke out, which separated
the family and Omar was sent to Britain, where he attended a boarding school.
After graduating from high school in 1982 AD, Omar spent 7 months in Cairo,
where he studied Arabic, Islamic literature, and history. After that, Omar
obtained a bachelor's degree in literature and English from Oxford University.
After graduation, he joined INSAS School of Filmmaking in Brussels, Belgium.
Artistic production
Al-Qattan began his career in the
film industry by directing 15 to 20-minute documentaries and dramas while he
was in filmmaking school, including his first documentary entitled You... I Am
in 1987 and his first dramatic film titled Dance in 1988, followed by his
award-winning tragic comedy film He won an award, which was titled “The Tale of
a Blind and Paralyzed Man” in 1989 AD, which was shown on Canal +.
Al-Qattan continued his close
relationship with the prominent Palestinian director Michel Khleifi, who in
turn was one of Al-Qattan's teachers at INSAS School, where they participated
in the production of many films.
The first feature documentary,
Dreams and Silence, was released in 1991. The film revolves around the
suffering of a Palestinian refugee woman in Jordan, her suffering with religion
and the social restrictions imposed around her during difficult times during
the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The documentary won the prestigious Joris Ivens
Prize and was shown in Australia and five European countries. In the same year,
Al-Qattan moved to London to settle there, where he founded, in partnership
with Michel Khleifi, the picture of Britain, which later became Sinbad Films
Limited in 1993. The company produced the films The Tale of the Three Jewels
(1995) and Forbidden Marriage in the Holy Land (1996), which became The first
feature film to be shot in the Gaza Strip, and the film won many international
awards after its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. The last film was a
documentary about mixed marriages between Jews and Arabs in Palestine / Israel.
In 1995 Going Home was released, a documentary about Dirk Cooper, a British
veteran of the British-Palestinian Mandate, which focused on the central role
of reconciliation.
List of his films
I am you? (1987), director
Dancing (1988), director
The Tale of a Blind and Paralyzed
Man (1989), director
Song of the Stones (1990-1991),
assistant
The Agenda (1992), co-producer
The Tale of the Three Jewels
(1994-1995), Executive Producer
Forbidden Marriage in the Holy Land
(1995), Executive Producer
Going Home (1996), director and
producer
Jerusalem (1998), producer and
director
Homesick (1999), screenwriter
500 Acres on the Moon, Assistant
Producer
My Star, Hope (2000), Producer
Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
(2000-2002), co-directed with Michel Khleifi
Midwest or Midwest Square (2002),
producer
Diary of an Art Competition (Under Occupation)
(2002), director, producer and photographer
Route 181 - Fragments from a
Journey to Palestine and Israel (2003-2004), co-producer.
source
Achievements and Awards
- Years in active
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