Zaid Abu Hamdan was born in 1982 in Jordan. From a young age he was dazzled by the magic of storytelling, and started acting at the age of five. He graduated from the Lebanese American University (LAU) in 2005 with a BA in Communication Arts (Radio, TV, Film and Theatre) before pursuing his studies at the New York Film Academy, for which he received an MFA in Filmmaking. Zaid started travelling internationally, working as an Assistant Director, Line Producer and a TV reporter. He produced International Red Cross campaigns and worked as a First Assistant Director and Writer for Hikayat Simsim, the Jordanian co-production of Sesame Street, before moving to MBC Action, part of the lead pan-Arab TV network the Middle East Broadcast Centre, as a Continuity Producer / Script Copywriter.

In 2009, Zaid established his production company, Zaha Productions, and produced four shorts in both the Middle East and Hollywood. Zaid’s Debut film, ‘Baram & Hamza’, won several prestigious awards at international film festivals and has since been picked up for distribution around educational institutes in the US to educate youth about Middle Eastern issues and promote healthy conversation and peace. His most recent short, ‘Bahiya & Mahmoud’, was officially selected at the Dubai International Film Festival for the Muhr Short Competition in December 2010, and held its North American Premiere at the Oscar Qualifying Palm Springs International Shortfest in June 2011. He has just completed his new short film ‘Love…Older’, which was shot in Los Angeles and Beirut.

Zaid is currently residing in Hollywood, California, where he is developing his first feature film, ‘Nostalgia’, as part of the TorinoFilmLab and EAVE Interchange, for which he also recently won the Doha Film Institute Script Development Fund in May 2011.

DFI: Congratulations on your DFI grant. Can you tell us more about this new project?
Zaid: Thank you! ‘Nostalgia’ tells the story of four sisters who, after years of separation, have to unite to solve issues that have been dictating their lives since the day they were born. They grew up in the 70s and 80s with an overprotective father in Jordan, who became overtly religious and traditional after the death of his wife in the 80s. At the time, raising four daughters in Amman was considered tough and a “platform with potential for gossip and scandal”. As the sisters try to free themselves from the control of the family, old school traditions and rules, they are faced with their own fears and prejudice.

As an Arab, I want to explore how traditions still control the way we think, behave and make decisions, regardless of how liberal we might think we are. As a male writer/director making a film about four sisters, I am going through an intense research process to discover my four characters more thoroughly, as there is a thin line between empowerment and empathy. My goal is to show this film in theatres around the world to touch the lives of as many people as possible, while still portraying our fun and loving nature as Arabs.

Hopefully, if everything goes as planned, ‘Nostalgia’ will be shot in Amman in or around October 2012, and will be hitting the festival circuits shortly thereafter. My producer, Heba Abu Musaed, and I have met several European producers who are interested in co-productions, in addition to some American co-production options we are studying at the moment.

DFI: It is clear that you are fascinated by the world of storytelling. How important do you think it is for stories from the Middle East to be shared with the world?
Zaid: I believe that the stories of Middle Eastern life are not even 1 percent exposed to the world yet. I strongly feel that it is my duty as a filmmaker to make films that are self-critical. We are the nation where civilisation started, yet we are way behind in several aspects, and this is a shame. Using this field of filmmaking, which is a very powerful medium, I am hoping that Arab directors will tell stories that matter: the stories that show the magic and the warmth of the Middle East!

DFI: You have a rich variety of experience in different media fields. Where do you find yourself the most, and why?
Zaid: Well, I have worked on films as a writer, director, producer and actor, while still being a university student. And I am still a presenter to date. While I do enjoy doing it all, I have to say that my passion absolutely lies primarily in writing and directing for film. The reason is that the process of creating characters on paper and bringing them to life is so reviving to me. I love every single aspect of filmmaking. I love writing a character and living it until I hand the responsibility to the actor, then I take it from there as a director. Also, whenever I am not 100 percent occupied with that, I am always open to acting. Acting, to me, is my therapy.

DFI: You currently live in Hollywood. Was there any specific reason for this move? Do you feel there is less chance to develop in your field within the MENA region?
Zaid: I first came to Hollywood to get my Masters Degree, which I received in September 2010 from the New York Film Academy in Hollywood. After that my debut short film ‘Baram & Hamza’ started getting selected at American Film Festivals and winning big awards, so I decided that I should stay for a year until the film finishes the festival circuit, and meanwhile I can work and get some Hollywood experience. So, I moved to an apartment in central Hollywood – and fell in love with it! I dream of coming back to the Middle East soon and making a new life and extending a career there, but I don’t intend on making that move until I really trust that there is a lasting film platform in the Middle East that I can communicate with.

DFI: What are the main challenges you have faced in your career, and how do you see the future of Arab cinema improving within the region?
Zaid: I definitely see a bright future for Arab filmmakers. There is so much more to explore in the Middle East, and the West is looking for it and expecting it. More co-productions are opening within our region, in addition to the relatively new Gulf and Middle Eastern film commissions and funding organisations that are doing a great job in helping young Arab filmmakers to develop and shoot their stories. The one thing I hope will be improved is the current limit on freedom for us Arab filmmakers to be able to tell our stories freely and with less censorship, but I’m sure that will be accomplished with time. At least, I hope it will.

DFI: You’ve established your own production company. Does this make it easier for you to work on your own projects, and if so, why?
Zaid: Zaha Productions was established in 2009 when I shot my debut short film in Los Angeles. After the success of the first film ‘Baram & Hamza’, the company started to pick up and has since produced all of our short films, as well as some other short films in the US and the UAE. Of course, having an established name for a production company makes it easier for us to proceed with our feature film ‘Nostalgia’, as we have created a platform strong enough to shoot a feature film from. ‘Nostalgia’ will be produced by Zaha Productions, in collaboration with a local Jordanian production company.

DFI: Can you tell us a little more about your debut short, ‘Baram & Hamza’, and how you, as an Arab expatriate in Hollywood, feel about it being used to educate America’s youth on Middle Eastern issues?
Zaid: ‘Baram & Hamza’ is a humanitarian view on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and is a story I wrote after being shocked and surprised that my two new friends in Los Angeles, Moe and Moe, whom I thought were Arab cousins, were actually Mohammed the Palestinian and Motek the Israeli. Even though I hardly know anything about politics and I refuse to get involved in it, I could not help but be inspired by those two best friends, Moe and Moe!

Sadly, even after winning several awards – such as the World Cinematic Directing award at Amsterdam Film Festival, and the Outstanding Achievement in Short Filmmaking award in Newport Beach Film Festival, California – ‘Baram & Hamza’ did not receive any recognition from festivals in the Middle East. That was unfortunate, but I am not surprised as the film is not the regular format that viewers in the region like to see when dealing with this subject. In ‘Baram & Hamza’, I wasn’t rationalising the killing or giving excuses to any nation to do anything. I was just showing a simple case and its overreacted outcome.

The film got distributed in some US schools in various states to educate them on the outcome of any two conflicting nations, and it was packaged with other short films on the same “conflicting nations” subject. I did not intend to make this film to educate anyone – I made it out of love for innocent children of every – and any – nation, and because I trust that a solution should be applied as soon as possible to stop the killing in the region, rather than a permanent solution that could take a thousand years.

DFI: What is it that’s fascinating about film, in your opinion, and how does this affect cultures?
Zaid: Film is fascinating in every sense. The picture frame is your playground, and you can be very well planned and make whatever you want of it. Cultures in film are travelling throughout the world and breaking all boundaries. I believe the idea of filmmaking was one of the first steps towards world diversity and technology ever made.

DFI: What does filmmaking mean to you?
Zaid: Filmmaking to me is being alive. As a child, when the lights used to go off in a film theatre, I saw magic, and that is what I want to make.

DFI: What is the film that has inspired you the most, and why?
Zaid: Several have! I am not sure if certain films or directors inspire me more than others, as I am all about style diversity as long as the medium is the traditional storytelling one. For example, I enjoyed ‘Avatar’, but it is really not my type of movie. I have to say I love stories with heart, and directors such as Steven Spielberg, Youssef Chahine, Majid Majidi, Giuseppe Tornatore and Stanley Kubrick… and I still can’t get over Peter Jackson’s blockbusters!

DFI: As a young filmmaker, what do you say to those who, like you, are intrigued by storytelling?
Zaid: I simplify it as follows:

1. If you really, truly know and believe deep in your heart that your passion is to tell stories and be a filmmaker, move to step two below: otherwise, just go and enjoy the films!
2. It’s a very tough industry and only through severe determination will you be able to succeed. Tell stories from your heart, only stories that you really know. Be realistic but never ever let anyone tell you that your passion is impossible. Believe in yourself, and trust that professional criticism is your best friend for self-growth.