Curriculum Vitae Presented by Ala Hamdan Ala Hamdan
Languages: Fluent in Arabic and English PROFILE: A photographer and a film director that has won several national and international awards for her short films ads, PSAs and photographs. Co-founder of (at Films) production company. Ala studied film directing and screenwriting at New York Film Academy in Italy. She focuses through her art on humanitarian causes, uplifting causes and social awareness; she also blogs and Vlogs about her journeys around the world. Some of her PSAs reached over 5 million views on social media and were screened during several national and international events. She also directs a web series titled (While in..) documenting her travels and experiences. Ala is also invited in several occasions as a speaker during various events and tours in the US and around the Arab/MENA region and has participated as a judge in many festivals, recently in 2018 at Istanbul Tourism Film Fest and Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards. In 2018 Ala was chosen to launch Minan- Lens Aljazeera, which is a FB page of 170k fans now targeting Arab photographers and storytellers. Her latest awards were: - Dubai Cultural Festival 2015 - Istanbul Tourism Film Festival 2016 - Sila Film Fest 2016 - Transylvania Cinema Awards 2017 Official film festival selection: - Shortcut Fest 2017 - Aab International Film Festival 2017 She is a social media influencer with more than 700K followers. Ala works with major companies and networks such as Aljazeera, Mawdoo3.com, the UNFPA and Save the Children. Ala has her own TV program on Roya Channel, titled Cinerama. A 15-episodes program. Roya is considered number one channel in Jordan.
Ala is active in the humanitarian field. She has worked on several projects in Jordan, Turkey and Niger. Through her lens and blogs, she documents her experiences and tell stories. Ala is a co-creator of a book titled Muslims of the World, telling inspiring stories from Muslims around the globe. The book was listen by Amazon as one of the best sellers on Amazon year 2018. Ala gave a TEDx talk in 2018. The title of her talk was Storytelling Ethics: My Journey in Filming the Vulnerable.. Workshops and Courses Attended Screenwriting - New York Film Academy - USA - 2017 Documentary search, photography and film - Spectacle Production - London - 2015 Filmmaking, screenwriting, film gears and directing. - New York Film Academy - Florence - 2014 Cinematography - Shawish Production - Amman - 2013 Certified Associate - Photoshop CC - Adobe Creative Lab - Amman - 2013 Lighting Techniques - Shawish Production - Amman - 2012 Photography, editing, lighting and techniques Xtreme Production - Amman - 2011 Training, Awards, and Exhibitions Received 9 awards in three countries for my photography work. Latest Sept. 2016
Participated in more than 15 photography exhibitions and 5 official film screenings. Latest September 2015. Received a film award during Dubai Creativity Festival 2015 for a short film. Received a film award during Istanbul Tourism Film Festival 2015 for a short film. Received a film award during Sila Tourism Film Festival 2016 for a short film. Gave 15+ intensive filmmaking workshops with 250+ students in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, USA...ect). Presented over 20 filmmaking and Vlogging mini-sessions with 700+ attendees. Was assigned by Al Jazeera Media Training and Development Center -as a freelancer- to present a mobile-filmmaking workshop in Morocco to over 35 media-graduates. I was part of several humanitarian projects across Jordan, Turkey and Niger. Qualifications Summary Determined, creative and result-oriented individual with a highly acclaimed reputation for producing high quality imagery through photographs and videos that is recognized with several awards, exhibitions and screenings. Understanding and professionalism of digital storytelling. Good eye for texture, space, design, and color balance. Excellent knowledge in defining themes and concept for a film. Able to perform all administrative tasks to ensure smooth and productive workshops, very skilled at preparing and distributing materials.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Work Experience Independent filmmaker photographer and digital storyteller for several online platforms, private sectors and non-profit organizations: - Non-profit: The United Nations - Non-profit: UNFPA Jordan - Non-profit: Save the Children - Aljazeera - Doha - Qatar - King s Academy - Madaba - Jordan - www.mawdoo3.com (Named as the top Arabic non-news website according to New York Times magazine 2016). - At Films production Company as a founder and director.