Q
Directing
Qais Al-Zubaidi
Born January 1, 1945 · Baghdad, Iraq (age 81)
Qais Al-Zubaidi (قيس الزبيدي) is an Iraqi screenwriter, director, cinematographer and editor born in Baghdad in 1945. He studied editing and image at the Higher Institute of Cinema of Babelsberg in Germany. He first worked on German documentaries for the Higher Institute of Cinema and for Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft (DEFA) studio. Many of his documentaries, including Far from the Homeland (1…
Known For
The Adventure · 1974The Adventure
1974
MovieAdventureHistory
A mamluk called Gaber, in order to take advantage of the rift between the Caliph of Baghdad and the prince he works for, volunteers to be a messenger for the prince. He also takes it as a chance to see his beloved Zomorod. Gaber suggests the prince write the message on his bald head, but when his hair grows the message disappears.
Hisar Muddad · 1978Hisar Muddad
1978
Movie
Using film footage from various sources, Kaiss al-Zubaidi creates a description of the everyday lives of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Through skilful montage, the constant latency of conflict and violence becomes a relationship between the images. Counter-Siege was awarded one of seven ‘Main Prizes’ by the international jury at the 1979 Oberhausen Short Film Festival.
The Night · 1992The Night
★ 7.11992
MovieDrama
In the destroyed city of Quneitra is the grave of a resistance fighter for Palestine. His son, the director, tries to restore the dead man's history by mixing echoes of his mother's memory and his desire to give his father a more honorable death. Through the daily lives, dreams, fears, and hopes of its citizens, Malas chronicles his hometown Quneitra in the Golan Heights between 1936, the year of the first revolts against the British and Zionists in Palestine until the year of the city's destruction. He seeks to exorcise a feeling of shame and humiliation that long accompanied the image of his father and also his town, occupied by Israelis in 1967.
Kings and Extras: Digging for a Palestinian Image · 2026Kings and Extras: Digging for a Palestinian Image
2026
MovieDocumentary
The films in the PLO Media Unit were supposed to show a self-determined image of Palestinian reality – and they went missing during the Israeli invasion of Beirut in 1982. In a « road movie » from Palestine to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, director Azza El-Hassan follows the contradicting and confusing clues as to the whereabouts of the lost archive.
Mr. Progressive · 1974Mr. Progressive
1974
MovieDrama
A revolutionary journalist tries to expose a corrupt, opportunistic politician who is making shady deals. The prominent politician tries to take revenge on him, using his intelligence and wide connections, by framing him in a murder that will silence him forever.
The Visit · 2024The Visit
2024
MovieDrama
An oneiric film poem about a murder in occupied Palestine, in which Qais Al-Zubaidi used drawing, poetry, music, phonograph and pantomime with his technical virtuosity and formal expressionism. Featuring poetry from Mahmoud Darwish, Samih al-Qasim, and Tawfiq Ziad.
Men Under the Sun · 1970Men Under the Sun
1970
MovieDrama
Three Palestinian men strive to escape the hardships of life in a refugee camp. Under the scorching sun, the men enlist the help of an old man, Abu Al-Khaizuran, to smuggle them in an empty water tank across the desert.
Return to Haifa · 1982Return to Haifa
★ 8.01982
MovieDrama
Return to Haifa is based on Kanafani’s novel the plot of which takes place in 1967, when Palestinian refugees living in the newly occupied territories had an opportunity to visit the places from which they had been expelled in 1948.
Filmography
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