Akram Al-Ashqar

Akram Al-Ashqar _ar. أكرم الأشقر) (b. 1982) is a Palestinian film director, photographer and IT professional.

He was born in the city of Tulkarm in the West Bank. He started photography at his childhood, and made short films using his home video camera at that time. His films include: "First Picture" (2006), "Red, Dead, Mediterranean" (2006), and "Paper War" (2007) His short film, “Red, Dead and Mediterranean”, portrays whole generations of Palestinian children who are obsessed with a sea they know nothing about. A girl draws a map of Palestine marking the seas that she cannot visit. His short film, “Paper War”, summarized the Lebanon war in symbols of the money papers. His first professional documentary film, "First Picture" (2006), is the story of a Palestinian child from Tulkarm Camp for the Palestinian refugees. This child was born in one of the Israeli prisons. He spent more than two and a half years there. Then, he was separated from his mother who is still remaining arrested in prison by the Israeli Authority. The child starts an adventure of discovering the natural life under the protection of his father and family and the companions of the released prisoner mates of his mother, but he is still remaining very affected by the memories of his experience in prison.

The "First Picture" (2006) produced by the Arab Institute of Film. Al Ashqar is one of the represented artists in summer 2007 in London with IN FOCUS.

Filmography

* "Red, Dead and Mediterranean" (2006)
* "First Picture" (2006)
* "Paper War" (2007)

External links

* [http://www.artsmedia.ps/en/?page=akram Official website]