Maha Haj (Arabic: مها حاج; born in 1970)

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

and screenwriter.

Life and career

Haj was born in Nazareth. She was educated in the Baptist Christian school in Nazareth, though both her parents were communist activists. Under her father's influence she began studying pharmacy science, but after a year switched to literature, and completed her BA in English and Arabic literature at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

, and her MA in language and literature at

Haifa University The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an indepen ...

. She began working as a teacher, but was more interested in her art and writing, which she practiced in her free time. She began her cinematic career working as a set designer, script doctor, and art director on such films as

Elia Suleiman Elia Suleiman (, ; born 28 July 1960) is a Palestinian film director and actor. He is best known for the 2002 film ''Divine Intervention'' (), a modern tragicomedy on living under occupation in Palestine which won the Jury Prize at the 2002 Cann ...

's '' The Time That Remains'' (2009),

Ziad Doueiri Ziad Doueiri ( ; born October 7, 1963) is a Lebanese film director. He is known for his award-winning films '' West Beirut'' (1998) and '' The Insult'' (2017), a film that was nominated at the 90th Academy Awards, representing Lebanon in the Bes ...

's ''The Attack'' (2012); followed by Adi Adouan's ''Arabani'' (2014) and Rafael Najari's ''Over the Hilltop'' (2014). In 2009, she wrote and directed the short film ''Burtuqal'', which was released to critical acclaim, and was screened at many international film festivals, and then the documentary film ''Within These Walls'' (2010). She achieved international recognition in 2016 with her film ''Personal'' ''Affairs'', which had its international premiere at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

, in the

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

section. She both wrote and directed the film, which won Best Feature Film at the

Haifa International Film Festival The Haifa International Film Festival () is an annual film festival that takes place every autumn (between late September and late October), during the week-long holiday of Sukkot, in Haifa, Israel. History The festival was inaugurated in 1983 an ...

. In their reasoning, the judges wrote: "It is a creation that is entirely love of humankind, fluent and funny, captivating and kindhearted, a contemporary human mosaic, both local and universal." Haj detailed the difficulties, both logistically and emotionally, she faced getting public funding though the Israeli Film Fund (IFF) for her film ''Personal Affairs''. Then Israeli Minister of Culture

Limor Livnat Limor Ahava Livnat (; ; born 22 September 1950) is an Israeli former politician. She served as a member of the Knesset for Likud between 1992 and 2015, and was Minister of Communications, Minister of Education, and Minister of Culture & Sport. ...

established regulations that require any project receiving public funds to be presented as strictly an Israeli feature, not as a Palestinian-Israeli or Palestinian film, causing difficulties for filmmakers like Haj who want to highlight their Palestinian and/or dual identities. Ultimately, the IFF backed the project after Haj and her producer agreed to the terms to release the movie as an Israeli feature. In 2022, '' Mediterranean Fever'', which she wrote and directed, premiered at the

2022 Cannes Film Festival The 75th annual Cannes Film Festival is a film festival that took place from 17 to 28 May 2022. French actor Vincent Lindon served as jury president for the main competition. French actress Virginie Efira hosted the opening and closing ceremon ...

within the

Un certain regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

section, and won the Prize for Best Screenplay. in 2024, Upshot, which she directed, won the prize for short film at the

El Gouna Film Festival The El Gouna Film Festival (GFF; ) is an annual film festival established in 2017, held in the Red Sea resort town of El Gouna, Egypt. The event is hosted by the El Gouna Convention and Culture Centre. The festival focuses on storytelling trends, ...

2024.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

, - , 2016 , ''Personal Affairs'' , Best Film,

, , , - , 2016 , ''Personal Affairs'' ,

Caméra d'Or The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight or Critics' Week). The prize was created in 1978 Ca ...

, , , - , 2016 , ''Personal Affairs'' , Best Film,

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is an annual film festival currently held in Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excel ...

, , , - , 2016 , ''Personal Affairs'' , Special Mention – International Feature Film,

Zurich Film Festival Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) is an annual film festival that has been held in Zürich, Switzerland, since 2005. The festival's main focus is to promote emerging filmmakers from all over the world. In three competition categories only first, secon ...

, , , - , 2016 , ''Personal Affairs'' , Golden Eye – Best International Feature Film,

, , , - , 2016 , ''Personal Affairs'' , Critics' Award,

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

Film Festival , , , - , 2016 , ''Personal Affairs'' , Best Debut Feature,

Philadelphia Film Festival The Philadelphia Film Festival is a film festival founded by the Philadelphia Film Society held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The annual festival is held at various theater venues throughout the Greater Philadelphia Area. Overview The annual ...

, , , - , 2022 , '' Mediterranean Fever'' , Un Certain Regard Best Screenplay Prize,

, ,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haj, Maha Israeli women film directors Israeli female screenwriters 1970 births Living people Israeli film directors Arab-Israeli film directors People from Nazareth Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni University of Haifa alumni