Hisham Bizri
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Hisham Bizri | |
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University of Illinois at Chicago | |
Occupation(s) | Film director, Film producer, Actor, Screenwriter, Curator, Professor |
Spouse | Michelle Mason Bizri (1986–present) |
Children | 1 |
Awards | Bogliasco Fellowship, 2019
Rome Prize, 2008 Guggenheim Fellowship, 2007 |
Hisham Bizri (
Early life
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (April 2023) |
Bizri hails from a politically and financially prominent Levantine Arab clan—the El-Bizri—who ultimately trace their lineage to the Imam al-Husayn bin 'Ali. The family has included public servants, politicians, and merchants since Ottoman times, with its political influence originally centered in Sidon and Damascus.
The youngest of seven children of Lebanese parents, Bizri was raised in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War and 1982 Israeli Siege of Beirut. Bizri’s mother often would send him to the movie theater as an escape. The movie houses of Beirut introduced Bizri to: classic Hollywood films by D.W. Griffith, John Ford, Howard Hawks, George Cukor, and Chaplin; the European films of Ingmar Bergman, F. W. Murnau, and Roberto Rossellini; and many avant garde works, as well.[3]
Originally a student of physics and mathematics at
Film career
Bizri's films have been shown in international venues including
Early in his career, Bizri served as Producer at Future TV (Lebanon) and Creative Director of Orbit Communications Company (Rome/Dubai/Beirut/Cairo). In 2005, he co-founded The Arab Institute of Film (Amman, Jordan) with the Syrian filmmaker Omar Amiralay and Danish producer Jakob Høgel, with support from the Danish government, International Media Support (Denmark), and the Ford Foundation. In 2012, he was named President & Creative Director of Levantine Films (NYC).
Bizri cites Henry James as a key figure in shaping some of his views on art and literature: “It is art that makes life, makes interest, makes importance… giving fresh meaning to contemporary life.”
On his website, Bizri lists the films he appreciates, including: "Arabic Series" (Stan Brakhage, 1981), "Red River" (Howard Hawks, 1946), "The Sun Shines Bright" (John Ford, 1953), "Au Hasard, Balthazar" (Robert Bresson, 1966), "Gertrud" (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1964), "The 47 Ronin" (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1942), "The Earrings of Madame de..." (Max Ophuls, 1953), "India: Matri Bhumi" (Roberto Rossellini, 1959), The Tarnished Angels (Douglas Sirk, 1957), and "The Masseurs and a Woman" (Hiroshi Shimizu, 1938), as well as the films of D. W. Griffith and Gregory Markopoulos.[6] [citation needed]
Personal life
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (April 2023) |
Bizri met his wife, a philosopher, in 1986, and they married in 1993.
Filmography
Selected films
Year | Title | Length | Format | Notes |
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1989 | The Dream | 7 minutes | Super-8
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1989 | The Sun | 5 minutes | Super-8
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1990 | The Third of May | 9 minutes | 16mm film
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1990 | The Dream of a Ridiculous Man | 22 minutes | 16mm film
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1991 | The Leaves of a Cypress | 15 minutes | Betacam SP | |
1991 | Vertov's Valentine | 12 minutes | Betacam SP | |
1992 | Message from a Dead Man | 20 minutes | 16mm film
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1997 | Mitologies | Stereoscopic Cinema | ||
1997 | Las Meninas | Stereoscopic Cinema | ||
2002 | City of Brass | 24 minutes | Betacam | |
2002 | La Rencontre | 28 minutes | DV | Based on the short story "Emma Zunz" by Jorge Luis Borges. |
2002 | Chabrol á Biarritz | 23 minutes | DV | Interview with Claude Chabrol |
2005 | Vertices: Beirut.Dublin.Seoul | 32 minutes | DV | A film for three screens. |
2005 | Asmahan | 21 minutes | 35mm film
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2008 | Song for the Deaf Ear | 18 minutes | 16mm film/High-definition video
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Silent but for the last minute
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2010 | A Film | 8.32 minutes | 16mm film/High-definition video
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2012 | Sirocco | 18 minutes | 35mm film
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2016 | Beneath the wide wide Heaven | 15 minutes | 35mm film
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2017 | Hisham Bizri Retrospective | |||
2017 | Night Shift | 4.51 minutes | music video |
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2017 | Shooq aka The Wanderer | 42 minutes | ||
2018 | Selected shorts |
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2019 | Of Yellow was the outer Sky | 8 minutes | ||
2021 | Elektra | 89 minutes | 35 mm film |
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Awards and honors
- Bogliasco Foundation Fellowship (2019)
- Best Director (Tarkovsky Award) for "Night Shift," Amarcord Arthouse Film & Video Festival (2017)
- Best Editing Award for "Beneath the wide, wide, Heaven," RAIIFA International Film Festival (2016)
- Salomon Faculty Research Award, Brown University (2015)
- Script Station, Berlinale Talent Campus, Berlin International Film Festival (2011)
- American Academy in Rome "Rome Prize" (2008)
- McKnight Media Artist Award (2008)
- Guggenheim Fellowship (2007)
- Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Fellowship (2005)
References
- ^ Ruiz, Raoul (1996-06-07), The Golden Boat, retrieved 2016-02-08
- ^ Hisham Bizri's website Archived 2017-09-10 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 4 October 2015
- ^ "Hisham Bizri | News from Brown". news.brown.edu. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
- ^ "New Frontier Shorts Q & A @ 2013 Sundance Film Festival" YouTube Published on 10 February 2013, Retrieved 4 October 2015
- ^ Hisham Bizri's website Archived 2017-09-10 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 4 October 2015
- ^ Hisham Bizri's website "Favorites" Retrieved 4 October 2015