ATU School of Design and Creative Arts :: Student Gallery

A virtual exhibition space for our final year students of 2022

Tala Zeitawi

2021, Masters in Creative Practice / by

Biography

Tala Zeitawi is a documentary filmmaker and photographer who received her Bachelor’s Degree in Media studies at Al-Quds Bard College. She also received two Master Degrees, one is in Creative Practice at GMIT in Ireland and the second is in Documentary and Factual Filmmaking at MetFilm School of Berlin.

She produced documentary films that focus on subjects such as cultural diversities, minorities and refugee camps. Her goal is to raise awareness on neglected human rights by focusing on abandoned societies.

Her documentary films screened at multiple festivals and universities. ‘Chaotic 2020’ was screened at Galway Film Fleadh in 2021, which begins as a documentary about Social farming but then was interrupted by Covid restrictions describing the restrictions I face in Palestine in comparison to Galway during Covid-19.

Pieces

‘Chaotic2020’, 2020
https://youtu.be/P81U77b0gxI

I began my documentary about Social Farming in comparison to the lack of human rights of people with disabilities back home in Palestine. Social farming is a form of interaction between social support farming services, farmers and the participants who are in the need of improving their mental health and intellectual disabilities. In the midst of filming my film, Covid-19 began. I had to adapt to these circumstances and develop without losing what is most valuable for my film. I wanted to focus on that wherever I go now, movement restrictions will always follow me. To connect all of this footage together in one documentary film, I decided to write a Voiceover script of my life events and how the year of 2020 affected me.I compare my educational life in Palestine with my educational year in Galway where I thought I would be free from restrictions. The transition between the sceneries and environments in my film give the viewer the ability to travel through my eyes on this journey. Having to move from the Irish greenery to refugee camps and protests in Palestine, not only give the viewer the sensation of two different worlds but I also show the two different worlds of Ramallah city as well. This film was a very challenging experience. I was not only the camerawoman of this film, I had to plan how I wanted my story to connect with all this footage.

 

The In-between
The In-between is about a Bedouin family who is forced to live as Bedouins due to poverty and displacement brought on by the expansion of Israeli settlements. I wanted to raise awareness about those who are forgotten or are thought of in derogatory ways. It has been screened in multiple festivals in the USA. I was awarded funds to support the Bedouin family an electricity generator since they live in areas where electricity is a privilege and not a right. (Contact me for film)
‘The In-between’ was completed in 2017.

 

‘Hannah 1925’
https://vimeo.com/345787393

Hannah is a 94-year-old man who lived through the wars of Palestine. He is still living in the same house he was born in. He witnessed the British Mandate and worked with the British military as a laundryman. He has traveled through Qalandia Airport which was established in 1920 and closed in 1992 during the end of the first Intifada. He describes Ramallah as a city that witnessed wars, demolishment and urbanization.
‘Hannah 1925’ was completed in 2019.

 

 

Links

Shutterstock: https://www.shutterstock.com/de/g/TalaZeitawi

Website: https://talazeitawi.wixsite.com/documentarian

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talazeitawiii/

Email: tala.zeitawi@gmail.com


I began my documentary about Social Farming in comparison to the lack of human rights of people with disabilities back home in Palestine. Social farming is a form of interaction between social support farming services, farmers and the participants who are in the need of improving their mental health and intellectual disabilities. In the midst of filming my film, Covid-19 began. I had to adapt to these circumstances and develop without losing what is most valuable for my film. I wanted to focus on that wherever I go now, movement restrictions will always follow me. To connect all of this footage together in one documentary film, I decided to write a Voiceover script of my life events and how the year of 2020 affected me.I compare my educational life in Palestine with my educational year in Galway where I thought I would be free from restrictions. The transition between the sceneries and environments in my film give the viewer the ability to travel through my eyes on this journey. Having to move from the Irish greenery to refugee camps and protests in Palestine, not only give the viewer the sensation of two different worlds but I also show the two different worlds of Ramallah city as well. This film was a very challenging experience. I was not only the camerawoman of this film, I had to plan how I wanted my story to connect with all this footage. - https://youtu.be/P81U77b0gxI

The In-between is about a Bedouin family who is forced to live as Bedouins due to poverty and displacement brought on by the expansion of Israeli settlements. I wanted to raise awareness about those who are forgotten or are thought of in derogatory ways. It has been screened in multiple festivals in the USA. I was awarded funds to support the Bedouin family an electricity generator since they live in areas where electricity is a privilege and not a right. (Contact me for film) ‘The In-between’ was completed in 2017.

Hannah is a 94-year-old man who lived through the wars of Palestine. He is still living in the same house he was born in. He witnessed the British Mandate and worked with the British military as a laundryman. He has traveled through Qalandia Airport which was established in 1920 and closed in 1992 during the end of the first Intifada. He describes Ramallah as a city that witnessed wars, demolishment and urbanization. ‘Hannah 1925’ was completed in 2019. https://vimeo.com/345787393

Categories