Artist statement
During the quarantine time, I found myself nostalgic to watching some of the old family VHS tapes that was filmed with my grandfather’s camcorder in the late 90s and early 2000s. Watching those tapes I found myself traveling 20 years back and revisiting a time where military invasions, curfews and loss were realities that I had to deal with as a child. So I decided to make this 6-minute video as an attempt to reconcile with that traumatic past and to see if there was anything that can be learned from a time of innocence and pain!
Artist Biography
Sameer Qumsiyeh is a Palestinian filmmaker based in Bethlehem. He directed, produced, filmed and edited several award winning narrative, experimental, and documentary films.
His documentary feature “Walled Citizen” had its international premiere at the 32nd Galway Film Fleadh and is currently doing its film festival tour around the world.
Sameer is the editor of the two award winning feature films by Palestinian director Muayad Alayan: “Love, Theft and Other Entanglements” (Berlinale 2015) and “The Reports on Sarah and Saleem” (IFFR 2018).
He also worked on various local and international projects including productions by National Geographic, ZDF, MBC Group and others. In 2020 he started creating online videos that explore topics such as global citizenship, life in Palestine and mental health as well as personal reflections.
Apart from his life in film, Sameer is a devoted backpacker who believes in the power of international travel as a way for cultural understanding and building bridges between people.
You can follow more of Sameer's work via the following platforms:
Facebook: /sameer.qumsiyeh
YouTube: /SameerQumsiyeh