Hisham Zreiq ( ar, هشام زريق, he, הישאם זרייק; born 9 February 1968 in Nazareth), also spelled Zrake, is an award-winning

Palestinian Christian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

- Israeli Independent

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

, animator and

visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

. He began working in computer art in 1994, and in 1996 started exhibiting his work in galleries and museums. In 2007 he filmed his first documentary, ''

The Sons of Eilaboun ''The Sons of Eilaboun'' ( ar, أبناء عيلبون) is a 2007 documentary film by Palestinian artist and film maker Hisham Zreiq (Zrake), that tells the story of the Eilabun massacre, which was committed by the Israeli army during Operation Hi ...

'', and in 2008 he created the short film ''

Just Another Day Just Another Day may refer to: Music * ''Just Another Day'' (album), an album by Wire Daisies * " Just Another Day...", a song by Queen Latifah * "Just Another Day", a song by The Game from the album '' Compton'' * "Just Another Day", a song by ...

'', dealing with the life of Arabs living in western world after September 11 terror attacks. He uses his poetry and visual art in his films, as in ''Just Another Day'', and was a member of the Culture Unplugged film festival panel. 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''.

Early life

Zreiq was born 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 Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

. 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.

Film career

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.

Filmography

(2007, Documentary film) * Just Another Day (2008 film) * Before you is the sea (2011, Short film) * Don't Cry (Animated Short Film) (2022, Short animated film)

Awards and honors

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. After the premiere screening of his first film "The Sons of Eilaboun" in Nazareth, Hisham Zreiq was honored by

Ramiz Jaraisy Ramiz Jaraisy ( ar, رامز جرايسي, he, ראמז ג'ראיסי; born October 24, 1951) is an Arab-Israeli politician and the former mayor of Nazareth. Jaraisy was born in Israel. He holds a BSc in mechanical engineering (1973) and an MS ...

, the mayor of Nazareth, and by Dr. Hana Sweid, an Israeli Arab politician and member of Knesset from Eilaboun. Ramiz Jaraisy described the film as an important work which tells the Palestinian story in a contrast with the dominant Israeli version. His film won the Al-Awda award in Palestine 2008, and in April 2012 Hisham Zreiq was chosen to be the artist of the month in the magazine
This Week in Palestine
'. Some of Zreiq's works were featured in the book '
ArtWanted.com Creative Minds
'' His animated short film Don't Cry won over 20 awards

Awards

* Kunst- und Förderpreis Sparkasse Bayreuth (2004), Hollfeld, Germany * Best documentary, Al-Awda award (2008), Ramallah, Palestine * Best short animation, Best Istanbul Film Festival (2022), Istanbul, Turkey * Best Creative (Short film), International Halicarnassus Film Festival (2022), Bodrum, Turkey * Best Animation, Sweet Democracy Film Awards (2022), Rome, Italy * Best Animation, New York Neorealism Film Awards (2022), Rome, Italy * Best Animated Film, Stanley Film Awards (2022), London, United Kingdom * Award of Recognition: Animation, IndieFEST Film Awards (2022), La Jolla, CA, USA * Award of Recognition: Direction, IndieFEST Film Awards (2022), La Jolla, CA, USA * Award of Recognition: Animation, Accolade Global Film Competition (2022), La Jolla, CA, USA * Award of Recognition: Film Short, Accolade Global Film Competition (2022), La Jolla, CA, USA * Best Animated Short Film, Triloka International Filmfare Awards (2022), Wellington, Tamil Nadu, India * Best Director, Triloka International Filmfare Awards (2022), Wellington, Tamil Nadu, India * Best Animation Director, Mumbai Entertainment International Film Festival (2022), Mumbai, India * Honorable Mention , Mannheim Arts and Film Festival (2022), Mannheim , Germany

Official Selections

His films were screened in several festivals and events, such as: Hisham Zreiq Honored by Ramiz Jaraisy

* Sixth Annual International Al-Awda Convention 2008,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States * Boston Palestine Film Festival 2008, United States * International İzmir Short Film Festival 2008, Izmir,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

* Amal The International Euro-Arab film Festival 2008, Spain * Carthage Film Festival 2008 (Palestine: To remember section),

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

* Regards Palestiniens, Montreal, Canada * Chicago Palestine Film Festival, 2009 * 13th Annual Arab Film Festival, 2009 * Sixth Twin Cities Arab Film Festival, Minnesota, USA * Salento International Filem Festival, 2010, Italy * Palestine Film Festival in Madrid, 2010, Spain * 18th Damascus International Film Festival, 2010, Syria * Al Ard Doc Film Festival, 2011, Cagliari, Italy * Toronto Palestine Film Festival, 2012, Toronto, Canada * Al Ard Film Festival the 18th-edition, 2022, Cagliari, Italy * Madrid Indie Film Festival • MADRIFF 2022, Madrid, Spain

Non-film activities

Zreiq is a software architect and learned his trade in Israel at the Technion and

Haifa University The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming I ...

, and worked for almost 10 years in Israel in

hi-tech High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...

companies. 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''.Zed Books
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References

External links

Hisham Zreiq's Art Gallery
*
Hisham Zrake's Premiere Artist Portfolio

Hisham Zrake's ArtWanted Portfolio

Hisham Zrake's onefineart Portfolio

When it all began a documentary film by Hisham Zreiq

The Sons of Eilaboun a documentary film by Hisham Zreiq

Just another day a film by Hisham Zreiq

Before you is the sea a film by Hisham Zreiq
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zreiq, Hisham 1968 births Living people Palestinian film producers Palestinian screenwriters Arab screenwriters People from Nazareth Palestinian poets Arab citizens of Israel Digital artists German-language film directors Israeli film directors Arabic-language film directors Palestinian documentary film directors People from Erlangen Film directors from Bavaria Arabs in Germany Israeli Arab artists Palestinian contemporary artists