Hisham Zreiq

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Hisham Zreiq
Born (1968-02-09) 9 February 1968 (age 56)
Nazareth, Israel
Other namesHisham Zrake
Occupation(s)Visual artist, film director, producer, animator, screenwriter, software architect and poet
Years active1994–present
AwardsAl-Awda Award for Best Documentary Film
2008 The sons of Eilaboun
Websitehttp://www.hishamzreiq.com

Hisham Zreiq (Arabic: هشام زريق, Hebrew: הישאם זרייק; born 9 February 1968 in Nazareth), also spelled Zrake, is a Palestinian-Israeli Independent filmmaker, poet, animator and visual artist. He began working in computer art in 1994, and in 1996 started exhibiting his work in galleries and museums.[1] In 2007 he filmed his first documentary, The Sons of Eilaboun,[2] and in 2008 he created the short film Just Another Day,[3] dealing with the life of Arabs living in western world after September 11 terror attacks.[4] He uses his poetry and visual art in his films, as in Just Another Day,[5] and was a member of the Culture Unplugged film festival panel.[6] In 2018 Zreiq contributed to the book An Oral History of the Palestinian Nakba by writing a chapter based on the interviews from his documentary The Sons of Eilaboun.[7] In 2023 he started a music project called 'Goddess Asherah' [8]

Early life[edit]

Zreiq was born and raised in Nazareth, the son of Lydia Zreiq (née Dubayah), an elementary school teacher, and Salem Zreiq, a history high school teacher; both were Palestinian Eastern Orthodox Christians. He has two sisters and two brothers. Zreiq is married and has one son.

Zreiq studied computer science and mathematics, and works as a software architect. In March 2001 he moved to Germany, where he lives and works.[9]

Film career[edit]

In 2006 Hisham Zreiq started producing/directing films starting with the documentary ‘The Sons of Eilaboun’, that won Al-Awda Award in Palestine, followed by the short fiction film ‘Just another day’ (2009), a film that deals with the Arabs in the western world after September 11 attacks. In 2010/2011 he produced the short fiction ‘Before you is the Sea’, a film about the Middle East peace process in a form of a love story between a Jewish woman and a Palestinian man. In 2021 Zreiq finished a short animated film ‘Don't Cry’ that was selected for the Al Ard Film Festival the 18th-edition. [10]


Filmography[edit]

Awards and honors[edit]

In 2004 Hisham Zreiq was one of the winners of the award "Kunst- und Förderpreis Sparkasse Bayreuth", and his work was exhibited at Kunst & Museum Hollfeld. [11] After the premiere screening of his first film "The Sons of Eilaboun" in Nazareth, Hisham Zreiq was honored by Ramiz Jaraisy, the mayor of Nazareth, and by Dr. Hana Sweid, an Israeli Arab politician and member of Knesset from Eilaboun.[12] Ramiz Jaraisy described the film as an important work which tells the Palestinian story in a contrast with the dominant Israeli version.[13] His film won the Al-Awda award in Palestine 2008,[14] and in April 2012 Hisham Zreiq was chosen to be the artist of the month in the magazine This Week in Palestine.[15] Some of Zreiq's works were featured in the book ArtWanted.com Creative Minds [16] His animated short film Don't Cry won over 20 awards [17]

Awards[edit]

  • Kunst- und Förderpreis Sparkasse Bayreuth (2004), Hollfeld, Germany [18]
  • Best documentary, Al-Awda award (2008), Ramallah, Palestine [19]
  • Best short animation, Best Istanbul Film Festival (2022), Istanbul, Turkey[20]
  • Best Creative (Short film), International Halicarnassus Film Festival (2022), Bodrum, Turkey[21]
  • Best Animation, Sweet Democracy Film Awards (2022), Rome, Italy [22]
  • Best Animation, New York Neorealism Film Awards (2022), Rome, Italy [23]
  • Best Animated Film, Stanley Film Awards (2022), London, United Kingdom[24]
  • Award of Recognition: Animation, IndieFEST Film Awards (2022), La Jolla, CA, USA [25]
  • Award of Recognition: Direction, IndieFEST Film Awards (2022), La Jolla, CA, USA [26]
  • Award of Recognition: Animation, Accolade Global Film Competition (2022), La Jolla, CA, USA [27]
  • Award of Recognition: Film Short, Accolade Global Film Competition (2022), La Jolla, CA, USA [28]
  • Best Animated Short Film, Triloka International Filmfare Awards (2022), Wellington, Tamil Nadu, India[29]
  • Best Director, Triloka International Filmfare Awards (2022), Wellington, Tamil Nadu, India[30]
  • Best Animation Director, Mumbai Entertainment International Film Festival (2022), Mumbai, India[31]
  • Honorable Mention , Mannheim Arts and Film Festival (2022), Mannheim , Germany[32]

Official Selections[edit]

His films were screened in several festivals and events, such as:

Hisham Zreiq Honored by Ramiz Jaraisy the mayor of Nazareth and Dr. Hana Sweid a Knesset member
  • Sixth Annual International Al-Awda Convention 2008, California, United States [33]
  • Boston Palestine Film Festival 2008, United States [34]
  • International İzmir Short Film Festival 2008, Izmir, Turkey[35]
  • Amal The International Euro-Arab film Festival 2008, Spain [36]
  • Carthage Film Festival 2008 (Palestine: To remember section), Carthage, Tunisia[37]
  • Regards Palestiniens, Montreal, Canada [38]
  • Chicago Palestine Film Festival, 2009[39]
  • 13th Annual Arab Film Festival, 2009[40]
  • Sixth Twin Cities Arab Film Festival, Minnesota, USA [41]
  • Salento International Filem Festival, 2010, Italy [42]
  • Palestine Film Festival in Madrid, 2010, Spain [43]
  • 18th Damascus International Film Festival, 2010, Syria [44]
  • Al Ard Doc Film Festival, 2011, Cagliari, Italy [45]
  • Toronto Palestine Film Festival, 2012, Toronto, Canada[46]
  • Al Ard Film Festival the 18th-edition, 2022, Cagliari, Italy [47]
  • Madrid Indie Film Festival • MADRIFF 2022, Madrid, Spain[48]

Non-film activities[edit]

Zreiq is a software architect[49] and learned his trade in Israel at the Technion and Haifa University, and worked for almost 10 years in Israel in hi-tech companies.[50] Zreiq Wrote a chapter for the history book An Oral History of the Palestinian Nakba based on the interviews from his documentary The Sons of Eilaboun.[51]

See also[edit]


External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ OneFineArt a Lebanese art website
  2. ^ Hisham Zreiq at the IMDb
  3. ^ Just another day at the IMDb
  4. ^ "Filme Festival Focus". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  5. ^ Artwanted.com
  6. ^ Culture Unplugged Film Festival
  7. ^ Zed Books
  8. ^ Goddess Asherah's page in Bandcamp.com
  9. ^ "OneFineArt - the Art for Everyone - Hisham Zreiq". Archived from the original on 2004-03-26. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
  10. ^ Al-Ard 18th edition list of selected films
  11. ^ "Kunst-Kultur-Hollfeld". Archived from the original on 2009-01-31. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
  12. ^ Aljazeera.Net
  13. ^ Palestine Issue website
  14. ^ 2nd Annual Al-Awda Award Archived 2008-08-27 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ This Week in Palestine
  16. ^ Creative Minds Book: Featured Artists
  17. ^ imdb.com
  18. ^ "Kunst-Kultur-Hollfeld". Archived from the original on 2009-01-31. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
  19. ^ 2nd Annual Al-Awda Award Archived 2008-08-27 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ [1] Best Istanbul Film Festival 2022
  21. ^ [2] International Halicarnassus Film Festival (2022)
  22. ^ [3] Sweet Democracy Film Awards (2022)
  23. ^ [4] New York Neorealism Film Awards (2022)
  24. ^ [5] Stanley Film Awards (2022)
  25. ^ [6] The Indiefest Film Awards (2022)
  26. ^ [7] The Indiefest Film Awards (2022)
  27. ^ [8] Accolade Global Film Competition (2022)
  28. ^ [9] Accolade Global Film Competition (2022)
  29. ^ [10] Triloka International Filmfare Awards (2022)
  30. ^ [11] Triloka International Filmfare Awards (2022)
  31. ^ [12] Mumbai Entertainment International Film Festival (2022)
  32. ^ "Mannheim Arts and Film Festival (2022)". Mannheim Arts and Film Festival. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  33. ^ Sixth Annual International Al-Awda Convention
  34. ^ "Boston Palestine Film Festival 2008". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
  35. ^ International İzmir Short Film Festival 2008[permanent dead link]
  36. ^ Amal The International Euro-Arab film Festival
  37. ^ Carthage Film Festival 2008 Archived 2015-06-29 at the Wayback Machine
  38. ^ Regards Palestiniens film festival
  39. ^ "Chicago Palestine Film Festival". Archived from the original on 2011-08-09. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
  40. ^ "13th Annual Arab Film Festival". Archived from the original on 2009-10-12. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
  41. ^ "Sixth Twin Cities Arab Film Festival". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-04-01.
  42. ^ SALENTO INT'L FILM FESTIVAL Archived 2012-03-10 at the Wayback Machine
  43. ^ "Palestine Film Festival in Madrid". Archived from the original on 2010-09-05. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  44. ^ "Just another day in the festival website". Archived from the original on 2010-11-10. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
  45. ^ Associazione Amicizia Sardegna Palestina
  46. ^ Toronto Palestine Film Festival
  47. ^ [https://www.alardfilmfestival.com/news/al-ard-18th-edition-list-of-selected-films Associazione Amicizia Sardegna Palestina]
  48. ^ [13] Madrid Indie Film Festival • MADRIFF
  49. ^ Official Website/About
  50. ^ Hisham Zreiq Resume
  51. ^ Zed Books