Rana Kazkaz
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Office
About
Rana Kazkaz, an award-winning filmmaker, is an associate professor of communication in residence at Northwestern Qatar who teaches narrative filmmaking. Kazkaz’s films have been recognized at the world’s leading film festivals including Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, Tallinn, Tribeca, and Abu Dhabi.
She received her MFA from Carnegie Mellon University/Moscow Art Theater, BA from Oberlin College, and a certificate from the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women.
With a focus on Syrian stories, her producing, screenwriting, and directing portfolio includes The Translator (2020), Mare Nostrum (2016) which has been selected in over 100 international film festivals and won more than 30 awards, Searching for the Translator, a documentary (2016), Deaf Day (2011), and Kemo Sabe (2007).
Her first feature film The Translator (2020) won several grants and development awards including the Arte Award at L’Atelier de la Cinefondation at the Cannes Film Festival (2017), the CNC Award at Meetings on the Bridge at the Istanbul Film Festival (2017) and a Tribeca Alumni Grant (2018).
Article in the French paper Le Monde written by Benjamin Barthes: https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2019/07/24/la-revolution-syrienne-revit-en-fiction_5492782_3246.html
The New York Times names The Translator one of five action films to stream now - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/25/movies/action-movies-streaming.html
The Translator receives 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_translator
Her current film projects include The Hakawati’s Daughter and Honest Politics.
In 2021, she was invited to become a member of the Académie des César and was awarded the Roberta Buffett Visiting Professorship at Northwestern University.
Personal Websites
Courses
- MIT-190 Media Construction
- MIT-351 National Cinema: Arab Women Filmmakers & Post Arab Spring
- MIT-379 Short Film Production
- MIT-379 The Director’s Vision
- MIT-379 Narrative Film Production
- MIT-390 Directing Actors
- MIT-399 Independent Study: Levantine Arab Theater & Advanced Cinematography
- INTERDIS-204 Film and Design Collaborative
Filmography
Director
HONEST POLITICS – feature film in-development
THE HAKAWATI’S DAUGTHER – feature film in-development
THE TRANSLATOR - feature film (2020)
MARE NOSTRUM – short film (2016)
SEARCHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR – documentary film (2016)
DEAF DAY – short film (2011)
KEMO SABE – short film (2007)
Writer
HONEST POLITICS – feature film in-development
THE HAKAWATI’S DAUGTHER – feature film in-development
THE TRANSLATOR - feature film (2020)
MARE NOSTRUM – short film (2016)
DEAF DAY – short film (2011)
KEMO SABE – short film (2007)
Producer
THE FOOLISHNESS OF GOD: A FORGIVENESS JOURNEY WITH DESMOND TUTU - documentary in-development
SEARCHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR – documentary film (2016)
DEAF DAY - short film (2011)
Festivals & Screenings
THE TRANSLATOR
VOVF Traduire le Monde, Gif-sur-Yvette, France – October 2 2022
Le Cinemoviking de Saint-Lo, France – 18 May 2022
Festival de Chambery, France – 25 May 2022
Royal Film Commission, Amman, Jordan - June 14, 2022
Sciences Po Menton, France – 15 May 2022
Jeonju International Film Festival, Korea - 2021
Seattle International Film Festival, USA – 2021
Lunel Festival Traversées, France - 2021
Biografilm Festival | International Celebration of Lives, Italy - 2021
49e Festival La Rochelle Cinéma, France - 2021
Lyon Festival Cinémas du Sud / Regard Sud - Institut Lumière, France - 2021
Bienne Suisse Festival du Film Français d’Helvétie, Switzerland - 2021
Institut du Monde Arabe, France - 2021
Ferney Voltaire France-Suisse Festival de Cinéma des 5 Continents, France - 2021
Le Festival Cinéma de Rousset-Pays d'Aix, France - 2021
Prix Bayeux Calvados-Normandie du correspondant de guerre, France - 2021
Festival du Film Arabe de Fameck, France - 2021
Noisy-le-Sec Festival du film franco-arabe, France - 2021
Mostra de Valencia - Cinema del Mediterrani, Spain - 2021
Cinemamed de Bruxelles, Belgium - 2021
Festival Franco-Arabe de Bagdad, Iraq - 2021
French Cultural Institute, Beirut, Lebanon - 2021
MARE NOSTRUM *most recent below + list of 100+ festival screenings here: https://www.georgesfilms.fr/en/mare-nostrum.html
Earl’s Court for the Hands Up Foundation, United Kingdom - 2020
Semaine Du Film Arabe des Droits de l'Homme, France – 2019
SEARCHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
Karama Human Rights Film Festival, Jordan - 2015
DEAF DAY
Abu Dhabi Film Festival, UAE - 2012
Palm Springs ShortsFest, USA - 2012
KEMO SABE
USA Film Festival, USA – 2007
BuSho Budapest, Hugary – 2007
Chicago International Film Festival, USA - 2007
Cannes Short Film Corner, France - 2007
Rotterdam Arab Film Festival, Netherlands - 2007
Publications
Seeroo fi al ardh, Qatar Tribune and Al Watan, review for Qatar Foundation. (2021)
The Hakawati’s Daughter: How the Syrian Revolution Inspired a Rewrite , a peer-reviewed paper for The Journal of Screenwriting, Volume 11, Number 3, Intellect Ltd. (2020)
Refugee Status: Privileged , a peer-reviewed paper for “Refugee Filmmaking”, Alphaville Journal of Film and Screen Media. (2019).
Arab Identities, Images in Film , interview with filmmaker Eran Riklis, Media Majlis, Northwestern University Qatar (2018).
Feature and Op/Ed Writer for Magazines/Newspapers/Online: Libya.tv.com, Baladna, What’s on Syria(Syria), Publio (USA) and The Arab (UK) (2007-2009).
Awards & Grants
Grants
- CNC – Aide a la Musique de Film de Long Metrage: 8000€
- SACEM – Aide a la Musique Originale de Long Metrage de Fiction: 8100€
- Office Federal de la Culture (OFC), Switzerland: 160,000€
- Tribeca Film Institute Alumni Grant, USA: $5000
- Doha Film Institute Production Grant, Qatar: $45000
- Forom Grant, Switzerland: 22,000€
- Bourse stagiaire Fonction, Switzerland: $3000
- European MEDIA Film Development Grant, France: 60,000€
Awards
THE TRANSLATOR
- Audience Award, Biografilm Festival, Italy (2021).
- Audience Award, Lunel Film Festival, France (2021).
- Arte Prize of the Cinefondation, Cannes, France (2017).
- CNC Prize at Meetings on the Bridge, Istanbul, Turkey (2017).
MARE NOSTRUM
- Winner of 35 international prizes listed here: https://www.georgesfilms.fr/en/mare-nostrum.html
Other awards not listed in the link:
- Best Film, Latin-Arab Film Festival, Argentina
- CIMA Award for Best Female Director, Spain
- 2nd Place, Dublin Arabic Film Festival, Ireland 2021
- Silver Award, UFVA Conference, USA 2020
KEMO SABE
- Family Award, USA Film Festival (2007)
