Ziad Hamzeh
Encyclopedia
Ziad H Hamzeh is a Syrian-American film-maker. writer, producer and director. He is of Druze
origin. He is the producer of "Citizen Brando
" with Marlon Brando
. "Citizen Brando
" is a story of innocence lost, of love abandoned and of dreams shattered as a young Tunisian look alike to Marlon Brando on a quest to reach the impossible dream in making it big in Hollywood.” The film is scheduled for release in 2011.
. He immigrated to the United States
in 1979. After completing his studies, Hamzeh created two theatre
companies in Los Angeles
. As the artistic director of the Open Fist Theatre Company, he established a haven for artists.
His films and stage works have garnered many international awards. He received more than forty festival accolades including the Golden Palm for his film Woman at the Beverly Hills Film Festival
. Most of his work focuses on social issues, women's rights
, justice and human integrity. The majority of his leading characters on both stage and film are female.
In Los Angeles, Mr Hamzeh created two theatres:The Open Fist Theatre Company and The Egyptian Arena. Hamzeh brought to the LA theatre community many prestigious international names such as Fernando Arrabal
, Antonin Artaud
, Beckett
, Brecht
, Churchill, Gretzky, and Lorca
. He directed and or produced over sixty major award winning stage productions, among them Roxy Ventola’s After The Bomb, Brecht’s Baal, Sam Shepard
’s True West, Arrabel’s Car Cemetery, Hamlet
, Fassbinder’s The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
, Tennessee Williams
’ Vieux Carre, Nicholas Kazan
’s Blood Moon, Poor Murderer
, The Architect and Empress of Assyria, Cinders, Low Level Panic, and Dusa, Fish, Stas, and Vi.
Ziad has also been teaching directing in the graduate and undergraduates programs at the Maine Media Workshops
since 1995.
. The story that was dubbed as the Somali Invasion of the USA by the media outlets. This controversial film about the influx of Muslim Somali immigrants to the USA in a post 9/11 world garnered powerful reviews and won numerous awards such as the BIFF Indie Spirit for Best Feature Documentary; it was honored as the opening film of the 2004 Amnesty International Film Festival. Other works include: Shadow Glories about down-and-out, middle-aged man, once contender for the world heavyweight kickboxing title, struggles to rebuild his shattered life as he makes his way back home to his lost love and his one last chance at resurrecting his tortured soul. Along the way, his newfound morals and ethics are put to the ultimate test when he agrees to train a fiery young martial artist to take on his archrival, the blood lusting, up-and-coming heavyweight kickboxing champion of the world. Woman featuring Bouthaina Shaaban
is a feature-length film based on the writings, lectures, and life of Nobel Prize nominee, activist Bouthaina Shaaban as she fearlessly ignites awareness while advancing the cause of rights for Arab women - from securing formal acknowledgments throughout the Arab world that women should be afforded basic human rights, to waging an international battle defending the integrity of the real Arab female, all accomplished with the firm hand of diplomacy and the power of her pen. "Henry O!" the inspiring story of Henry Oliu, a man blind since birth, who has overcome all the odds and made his major league baseball dream come true. Calling upon his love for sports and an encyclopedic memory for facts and figures, Henry hears the crack of the bat and knows if it's a single, double, or home run; he listens for the ball singing into the catcher's mitt and knows if it's a curve ball, fastball, or change-up. Henry is the color analyst on Mega Classica 820 radio, WMGG, the strongest Hispanic station in Florida's Tampa Bay Market. And at his side in the broadcast booth above Tropicana Field, whispering in his ear up-to-the-minute stats and field action only the eyes can see, is the love of his life, his wife Deb. "Bleacher Boys", "Eternal Embrace", and Sisters.
Druze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
origin. He is the producer of "Citizen Brando
Citizen Brando
Citizen Brando is an upcoming film directed by Tunisian director Ridha Behi. Originally titled Brando and Brando, it was set to star Marlon Brando and Christian Erickson until Brando's death.-Plot:...
" with Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
. "Citizen Brando
Citizen Brando
Citizen Brando is an upcoming film directed by Tunisian director Ridha Behi. Originally titled Brando and Brando, it was set to star Marlon Brando and Christian Erickson until Brando's death.-Plot:...
" is a story of innocence lost, of love abandoned and of dreams shattered as a young Tunisian look alike to Marlon Brando on a quest to reach the impossible dream in making it big in Hollywood.” The film is scheduled for release in 2011.
Biography
Hamzeh was born at Jabal ad-Duruz in SyriaSyria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. He immigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1979. After completing his studies, Hamzeh created two theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
companies in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. As the artistic director of the Open Fist Theatre Company, he established a haven for artists.
His films and stage works have garnered many international awards. He received more than forty festival accolades including the Golden Palm for his film Woman at the Beverly Hills Film Festival
Beverly Hills Film Festival
The Beverly Hills Film Festival is a film festival in the United States founded by award-winning independent filmmaker Nino Simone in 2001. The festival debuted in 2001, and has shown regular growth each year...
. Most of his work focuses on social issues, women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
, justice and human integrity. The majority of his leading characters on both stage and film are female.
In Los Angeles, Mr Hamzeh created two theatres:The Open Fist Theatre Company and The Egyptian Arena. Hamzeh brought to the LA theatre community many prestigious international names such as Fernando Arrabal
Fernando Arrabal
Fernando Arrabal Terán is a Spanish playwright, screenwriter, film director, novelist and poet. He settled in France in 1955, he describes himself as “desterrado,” or “half-expatriate, half-exiled.”...
, Antonin Artaud
Antonin Artaud
Antoine Marie Joseph Artaud, more well-known as Antonin Artaud was a French playwright, poet, actor and theatre director...
, Beckett
Beckett
- People :* Arthur William à Beckett , English journalist and man of letters* Barry Beckett , American musician* Billy Beckett , English footballer...
, Brecht
Brecht
Brecht is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Brecht proper, Sint-Job-in't-Goor and Sint-Lenaarts. On January 1, 2006 Brecht had a total population of 26,464...
, Churchill, Gretzky, and Lorca
Lorca
Lorca is a municipality and town in the autonomous community of Murcia in southeastern Spain, 36 miles southwest of the city of Murcia. It had a population of 92,694 in 2010, up from the 2001 census total of 77,477. Lorca is the municipality with the second-largest surface area in Spain with...
. He directed and or produced over sixty major award winning stage productions, among them Roxy Ventola’s After The Bomb, Brecht’s Baal, Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
’s True West, Arrabel’s Car Cemetery, Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, Fassbinder’s The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant is a 1972 German film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, based on his own play. This film has an all female cast and is set in the home of the protagonist, Petra von Kant. It follows the changing dynamics in her relationships with the other women...
, Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
’ Vieux Carre, Nicholas Kazan
Nicholas Kazan
Nicholas Kazan is an American writer, producer and director. He is the son of director Elia Kazan and his first wife, playwright Mary Day Thacher Kazan. He married Robin Swicord, a writer, producer, actress, and director in 1984. His daughter is the actress Zoe Kazan.Kazan, also a noted...
’s Blood Moon, Poor Murderer
Poor Murderer
Poor Murderer was a 1976 Broadway play written by Pavel Kohout that premiered at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on October 20, 1976 and closed on January 2, 1977 after 87 performances.-Setting:...
, The Architect and Empress of Assyria, Cinders, Low Level Panic, and Dusa, Fish, Stas, and Vi.
Ziad has also been teaching directing in the graduate and undergraduates programs at the Maine Media Workshops
Maine Media Workshops
The Maine Media Workshops is an international non-profit educational organization offering year-round workshops for photographers, filmmakers, and media artists...
since 1995.
Film career
As a director, Hamzeh has had many noteworthy films such as The Letter: An American Town and the 'Somali Invasion'The Letter: An American Town and the 'Somali Invasion'
The Letter: An American Town and the 'Somali Invasion' is a 2003 documentary filmed in the city of Lewiston, Maine. In the film, director Ziad Hamzeh follows the firestorm of emotions that erupted when former Lewiston mayor Larry Raymond sent a letter to roughly 1,100 Somali refugees; a letter...
. The story that was dubbed as the Somali Invasion of the USA by the media outlets. This controversial film about the influx of Muslim Somali immigrants to the USA in a post 9/11 world garnered powerful reviews and won numerous awards such as the BIFF Indie Spirit for Best Feature Documentary; it was honored as the opening film of the 2004 Amnesty International Film Festival. Other works include: Shadow Glories about down-and-out, middle-aged man, once contender for the world heavyweight kickboxing title, struggles to rebuild his shattered life as he makes his way back home to his lost love and his one last chance at resurrecting his tortured soul. Along the way, his newfound morals and ethics are put to the ultimate test when he agrees to train a fiery young martial artist to take on his archrival, the blood lusting, up-and-coming heavyweight kickboxing champion of the world. Woman featuring Bouthaina Shaaban
Bouthaina Shaaban
Bouthaina Shaaban is a Syrian politician and is currently the political and media adviser to the President of Syria. Shaaban served as the first Minister of Expatriates for the Syrian Arab Republic, between 2003 and 2008, and has been described as the Syrian "regime's face to the outside...
is a feature-length film based on the writings, lectures, and life of Nobel Prize nominee, activist Bouthaina Shaaban as she fearlessly ignites awareness while advancing the cause of rights for Arab women - from securing formal acknowledgments throughout the Arab world that women should be afforded basic human rights, to waging an international battle defending the integrity of the real Arab female, all accomplished with the firm hand of diplomacy and the power of her pen. "Henry O!" the inspiring story of Henry Oliu, a man blind since birth, who has overcome all the odds and made his major league baseball dream come true. Calling upon his love for sports and an encyclopedic memory for facts and figures, Henry hears the crack of the bat and knows if it's a single, double, or home run; he listens for the ball singing into the catcher's mitt and knows if it's a curve ball, fastball, or change-up. Henry is the color analyst on Mega Classica 820 radio, WMGG, the strongest Hispanic station in Florida's Tampa Bay Market. And at his side in the broadcast booth above Tropicana Field, whispering in his ear up-to-the-minute stats and field action only the eyes can see, is the love of his life, his wife Deb. "Bleacher Boys", "Eternal Embrace", and Sisters.