Omar Bushiha is a Palestinian director, producer and screenwriter. He has been making films since the mid-1990s.
Bushiha was born in the West Bank in 1972. He grew up in a large family in a small village near the city of Nablus. He studied at Birzeit University in Palestine, where he received a bachelor's degree in filmmaking.
Bushiha began his career in the mid-1990s, directing a number of short films and documentaries on Palestinian issues. Many of his early films were made in collaboration with other Palestinian directors and filmmakers.
In 2003, Bushiha directed his first feature film, The Map of Paradise. The film was shot in Palestine and tells the story of a young Palestinian girl who dreams of one day traveling to a paradise that she believes to be real. The film was well-received and won several awards at international film festivals.
In 2011, Bushiha wrote and directed his second feature film, The Return of the Sun. The film tells the story of a Palestinian family who is forced to flee their home during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The film was widely acclaimed and was selected for the Cannes Film Festival.
Bushiha has also worked on a number of television series and documentaries. In 2012, he directed a documentary about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict titled The Gatekeepers. The film received a great deal of critical acclaim and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2013.
Bushiha has received numerous awards throughout his career. In 2010, he was awarded the Palestine Prize for Excellence in Filmmaking by the Palestinian Ministry of Culture. In 2013, he was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the Dubai International Film Festival.
Omar Bushiha is a pioneering filmmaker whose work has helped to raise awareness of the Palestinian struggle and has been instrumental in bringing international attention to Palestinian cinema.
