Palestine
Born into a Palestinian family in Israel, a situation that strongly influences his work, Elia Suleiman (b. 1960, Nazareth) is one of the most important filmmakers in the Middle East. A writer, director and actor caught in an extreme conflict, he deals with heavy issues. His work is highly political and contains precise, sharp commentary, yet it avoids anger and bitterness by taking an innovative, low-key approach. Suleiman wraps his subject in a lively narrative graced with humour, visual surprises, poetic moments, silences and sound effects. In his outstanding tragi-comedy, Divine Intervention (2002), Suleiman gives an iconic performance as the main protagonist in a series of interconnected sketches that combine delightfully bizarre humour with piercing insight into the realities of occupied Palestine. The film won both the Cannes Jury Prize and the International Critics Prize in 2002, and the international success and popularity of his films have brought Palestinian issues to a global audience. He teaches film and media studies at Birzeit University, and is a model and reference for young Palestinian filmmakers.
Elia Suleiman is awarded for the creative structure, innovative vocabulary and superb quality of his films, for his use of humour in examining universal humanitarian issues, and for his commitment to peace and justice for Palestine.
Elia Suleiman
Poster of Diveine Intervention by Elia Suleiman
REVIEW IN INDIEWIRE, INDEPENDENT FILM SITE: http://www.indiewire.com
INTERVIEW IN KAMERA.CO.UK: http://www.kamera.co.uk/interviews
ARTICLE BY SULEIMAN ABOUT EDWARD SAID (2003)
http://www.opendemocracy.net/
REVIEW OF DIVINE INTERVENTION: http://www.wsws.org/articles
INTERVIEW BY SIMONE BITTON OF SULEIMAN:http://www.zimbio.com
WIKIPEDIA: http://en.wikipedia.org
