Najwa Najjar ( ar, نجوى نجار) is a film writer and director. She was born to a
Jordanian father and
Palestinian mother. She began her career making commercials and has worked in both documentary and fiction since 1999.
Her debut feature film ''Pomegranates and Myrrh'' won 10 awards, and was released theatrically and screened at over 80 international festivals. When the film was first screened in
Ramallah
Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...
, there was public outcry by the
Hamas Government in
Gaza over the film's portrayal of "what was deemed its 'unpatriotic' portrayal of an untrustworthy wife of a political prisoner." At the
Doha Tribeca Film Festival, the film won the Best Arab Film award.
The 1999 documentary film ''Naim and Wadee’a'' was based on Najjar's family and includes the oral histories of Na’im Azar and Wadee’a Aghabi, a couple who were forced to leave their
Jaffa
Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
home in 1948. The film won the Award for Films of Conflict and Resolution at the 2000
Hamptons International Film Festival.
Her film, ''
Eyes of a Thief'', was the official
Palestinian submission to the 87th Academy Awards.
Najjar lives in the
Palestinian Territories
The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The I ...
.
Filmography
*''Naim and Wadee’a'' (1999)
*''Quintessence of Oblivion'' (2000)
*''A Boy Named Mohamed'' (2001)
*''Blue Gold'' (2004)
*''They Came from the East'' (2004)
*''Yasmine Tughani'' (2006)
*''Pomegranates and Myrrh'' (2009)
*''
Eyes of a Thief'' (2014)
*''Between Heaven and Earth'' (2019)
References
General references
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External links
Interview with Najjarat the 2009 Edinburgh International Film Festival
Women vs Occupation in Pomegranates and Myrrh
{{DEFAULTSORT:Najjar, Najwa
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Palestinian women film producers