Nizam Najjar

Nizam Najjar

Biography

Nizam Najjar was born in 1980 in Libya and grew up there, in Syria, and in Sudan. In 2002 he moved to Oslo. He studied at the University of Lillehammer, and after graduating with a film directing degree, he began to specialise in documentary films at the Volda University College.
After more than a decade away from the land of his birth, he visited Libya again in summer 2011 with the support of his relatives there, in order to document the profound changes occurring that finally led to the fall of Gaddafi. He has said that he could not simply sit in front of the television and be an observer to what was going on in Libya - he wanted to be part of the movement there. With the support of his relatives on the ground, he took his handheld camera and followed the rebels fighting against the Gaddafi regime, and discussed with them their perceptions of freedom. The Al-Gabra militia in Misrata finally accepted him as "their" cameraman and offered him insight into the inner workings of the Libyan revolt. And so came about his first feature-length documentary, DIARY FROM THE REVOLUTION, which has brought him to many festivals including here in Cologne.

Filmography

DAGBOK FRA REVOLUSJONEN (DIARY FROM THE REVOLUTION) (2012): Guest, Screenplay, Screenplay, Direction