Suha Araj
Brooklyn, NY
Suha Araj creates films that explore the displacement of immigrant communities. A Palestinian-American who grew up in Ohio, Araj became a filmmaker to reflect the Arab experiences that she felt were not represented on screen. The Cup Reader, a comedy shot in Palestine about a fortune teller and her matchmaking abilities, screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and was awarded the Next Great Filmmaker Award at the Berkshire International Film Festival and Baghdad International Film Festival. Araj followed with her film Pioneer High, about a Palestinean high schooler in 1969 who unknowingly starts a revolution by defying the school’s skirts-only policy. She has received support for her work from the Sundance Film Festival, Torino Film Lab, Independent Filmmaker Project, Berlinale Talent Project Market, Center for Asian American Media and Cine Qua Non Lab. She is the 2018 recipient of Tribeca/Chanel Through Her Lens production funding for her new film Rosa, which tells the story of a woman who begins a business to ship undocumented immigrants to their home countries for burial. The film won the Best Short Narrative Award and the Lionsgate/STARZ Short Film Award at BlackStar Film Festival, and the Best Short Narrative Award at the Woodstock Film Festival.
Cover image for the film Pickled (Khsara). A jar of pickles surrounded by pickles flying in the air of a mountain background at dusk.
On a lush green background the definition of the word Khsara is written tongue and cheek on a green background.
The poster for Rosa, a short film by Suha Araj. A latin woman aged 30 looks intensely down a dark NYC street at night. Photo credit: Zelmira Gainza.
The poster for The Cup Reader, the prelude short film to Khsara. Three women of ages varying from 20’s to 40’s all peer through a stained glass doorway with a look of pleasant surprise on their faces. Photo credit: Meg Kettell.
Suha Araj's short film, The Cup Reader (Qariat il Finjan).
Film teaser for Suha Araj's Rosa
Suha Araj's Director’s Reel, with scenes from Pioneer High, Running With Sharks, The Cup Reader, Fiyah, Bon Vivat.
Pickled (Khsara)
Suha Araj is a Palestinian-American artist who creates films that explore the displacement of immigrant communities.
Artist BioPickled (Khsara) is a comedic feature-length film set in the Palestinian diaspora about women who don’t get married “in time.” Nearing the ripe age of 30, astrophysicist Nisreen will expire if not wed. She struggles to find her own path between her old world Palestinian roots and the modern reality she lives in while her global family actively interferes. Bringing the comedy and joy of growing up an in Arab-American family, Suha Araj shows what happens when a Palestinian-American discovers that love is more important than marriage.