Michel Khleifi is a Palestinian

Palestinian people

The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...

 film writer, director and producer. He emigrated from Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 in 1970 and now resides in Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

. There, he studied television and theatre directing at the Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle (INSAS). After graduating from INSAS, he worked in Belgium television before turning to making his own films. He has directed and produced several documentary and feature films and received several prestigious awards including the International Critics’ Prize at the Cannes Film Festival

Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...

 and the Golden Shell

Golden Shell

The Golden Shell is the highest prize given to a competing film at the San Sebastián Film Festival. It was introduced in 1957. In 1953 and 1954, the highest prize had been called the Gran Premio. In 1955 and 1956 it was replaced by the Silver Shell...

 at San Sebastián International Film Festival

San Sebastián International Film Festival

The San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953...

 in 1987 for his film Wedding in Galilee

Wedding in Galilee

Wedding in Galilee is a 1987 film directed by Michel Khleifi. It was awarded the International Critics Prize at Cannes in 1987.-Synopsis:...

. Michel Khleifi currently teaches at INSAS.

Filmography

• Fertile Memory (1980)
• Ma'loul Celebrates its Destruction (1985)
• Wedding in Galilee
  Wedding in Galilee
  Wedding in Galilee is a 1987 film directed by Michel Khleifi. It was awarded the International Critics Prize at Cannes in 1987.-Synopsis:...
  
   (also known as Arabic
  Arabic language
  Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
  
   عرس الجليل trasliteration Urs al-Jalil (1987)
• Canticle of the Stones (1990)
• L'Ordre du Jour (1993)
• Tale of the Three Jewels (1995)
• Route 181: Fragments of a Journey in Palestine-Israel (2003), in collaboration with Eyal Sivan
  Eyal Sivan
  Eyal Sivan is an Israeli filmmaker and critic noted for his criticisms of Israeli policies.-Biography:Born in Haifa, Sivan attended school in Jerusalem, but dropped out to pursue photography...
  
  
• Zindeeq (2009)

Awards

• In 1987, won International Critics Prize, Cannes for Wedding in Galilee
• In 1991, won Special Jury Prize at Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
  Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
  The Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival is a documentary film festival held biennially in Yamagata, Japan.It was first held in October 1989, which makes it one of the longest running documentary film festivals in the world and the most distinguished such festival in Asia...
  
   for Canticle of the Stones
• In 2005, won alongside Eyal Sivan the Mayor's Prize, at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
  Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
  The Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival is a documentary film festival held biennially in Yamagata, Japan.It was first held in October 1989, which makes it one of the longest running documentary film festivals in the world and the most distinguished such festival in Asia...
  
   for Route 181: Fragments of a Journey in Palestine-Israel
• In 2009, won the Muhr award for "Best Arab Feature Film" at the Dubai International Film Festival
  Dubai International Film Festival
  The Dubai International Film Festival is an international film festival based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Launched in 2004, it aims to foster the growth of filmmaking in the Arab world.-Overview:...
  
   (DIFF))

Further reading

• Dabashi, Hamid
  Hamid Dabashi
  Hamid Dabashi born 1951 in Ahvaz is an Iranian-American Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York City.He is the author of over twenty books...
  
  , and Said, Edward
  Edward Said
  Edward Wadie Saïd was a Palestinian-American literary theorist and advocate for Palestinian rights. He was University Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and a founding figure in postcolonialism...
  
  (preface) (2006): Dreams Of A Nation: On Palestinian Cinema, Verso Books, London, United Kingdom, ISBN 1844670880. With:
  • Chapter 3: Michel Khleifi: From Reality to Fiction - From Poverty to Expression (p. 45 -57)
  • Chapter 4: Bashir Abu-Manneh: Towards Liberation: Michel Khleifi's Ma'loul and Canticle (p. 58-69)
• Gertz, Nurith; Khleifi, George (2008): Palestinian Cinema: Landscape, Trauma, and Memory, Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253220076. With:
  • Chapter 3: About place and time: The Cinema of Michel Kheifi, p. 74-100,