Ibtisam Mara'ana

Ibtisam Mara'ana (Arabic: ابتسام مراعنة, Hebrew: אִבְתִסאם מראענה) is an Arab-Israeli film director and producer of Palestinian descent living in Israel.

Ibtisam Mara'ana filming.

Biography

Ibtisam Mara’ana was born in 1975 in Fureidis, to parents of Palestinian descent in an Arab-Muslim working class village in northern Israel. She attended film school at Givat Haviva and later completed a degree from the David Yellin College of Education in Jerusalem. In 2000, she initiated a film and television program at her former high school in Fureidis, and also taught cinema at a high school in Kibbutz Mizra.

In 2003, Mara’ana founded Ibtisam Films to produce documentaries which investigate the borders and boundaries of Palestinian and Israeli society with a focus on women and minorities. Her work explores gender, class, racism, and collective and individual identity. Her films show the plight of Arab-Palestinians living as a minority within Israel, while at the same time, critique deep rooted practices within Arab-Palestinian society. Her work has been screened on television and at festivals worldwide.[1]

In 2009, Mara’ana was nominated as a political candidate of the Meretz party for the Israeli parliamentary elections, obtaining the 12th position on the candidate list. She later withdrew her candidacy prior to the elections after Meretz expressed support for Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.[2]

Mara’ana teaches at various educational institutions, including the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. She regularly speaks at universities, organizations, and conferences throughout Israel and abroad. She is a prominent feminist activist, and has published numerous articles in newspapers around Israel. In 2009, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz named Mara’ana as one of the 10 most influential women in Israel.

In 2011, the sister of Angela Fares (one of Mara’ana’s documentary subjects) was murdered in an honor killing. In response to the murder, Mara’ana created a foundation to support Arab-Palestinian women fleeing violence in Israel.[3][4]

Filmography

Awards

References

External links

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