Sulafa Jadallah
Sulafa Jadallah | |
|---|---|
سلافة جاد الله | |
 | |
| Born | 1941 Nablus |
| Died | 2002 (aged 60–61) Damascus |
| Alma mater | Cairo Higher Institute of Cinema |
| Occupation | Cinematographer |
Sulafa Jadallah (1941–2002) was the first Palestinian woman to work in film production.
Born in Nablus in 1941, she developed a passion for photography at an early age. Sulafa studied cinematography at the Higher Institute of Cinema in Giza.[1] She was the first Arab woman to become a cinematographer.[2]
Career
In 1967, Sulafa founded a small photography unit in her apartment. Her equipment was primitive, and she used her kitchen as a laboratory for developing photographs.[3] Her work focused mostly on documenting photos of Palestinian martyrs in the aftermath of the Naksa.[4]
In 1968, she co-founded the Palestinian Film Unit (PFU). The PFU worked as the official photography department of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. The PFU produced films that documented the events of the Arab-Israeli war, using footage from demonstrations, public gatherings, and other cultural and political events.[3][5]
Sulafa worked on the PFU's first film, No to a Peaceful Solution, released in 1968. Filmed in Jordan, the film documents Palestinian protests against the Rogers Plan.[6]
In 1969, Sulafa was shot in the head while filming.[7] She was paralyzed as a result of the injury, but she was able to continue working as a cinematographer. Sulafa passed away in Damascus in 2002 at the age of 61.[6] The Shashat Women's Film Festival in Palestine (2005–2013) created the "Sulafa Jadallah Annual Film Award" in her honor, recognizing her contributions to women's cinema.[8]
References
- ^ "All 4 Palestine | Sulafa Jadallah". all4palestine.org. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
- ^ PhD, Rebecca Ruth Gould (2024-10-17). "Palestinian Women Filmmakers and the Cinema of Liberation". deterritorialization. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
- ^ a b Gertz, Nurith; Khleifi, George (2008). Palestinian Cinema: Landscape, Trauma and Memory. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-3407-1. JSTOR 10.3366/j.ctt1r22xc.
- ^ المازني, بلال. "السينما الفلسطينية.. قرن من مقارعة الانتداب والاحتلال والمنفى". الجزيرة الوثائقية (in Arabic). Retrieved 2025-02-27.
- ^ Van de Peer, Stefanie (2017), "Mai Masri: Mothering Film-makers in Palestinian Revolutionary Cinema", Negotiating Dissidence, The Pioneering Women of Arab Documentary, Edinburgh University Press, pp. 140–167, ISBN 978-0-7486-9606-2, JSTOR 10.3366/j.ctt1g051k3.10, retrieved 2025-02-27
- ^ a b "سلافة جاد الله", ويكيبيديا (in Arabic), 2024-08-09, retrieved 2025-02-27
- ^ "Knights of Cinema: The Story of the Palestine Film Unit". Palestine Book Awards. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
- ^ "Bio". www.shashat.org. Retrieved 2025-02-27.