Bio:
Nabawia El-Soudani was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to a father of Egyptian Muslim background and a mother of Protestant American background. Living the major part of her life in California, she had the opportunity to study art at the University of California at Irvine where she earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Studio Art and a Minor in Digital Art graduating Cum Laude in June 2002. There she discovered the power to convey emotion in media that combines both image and sound. This led her to study in the program of Film and Video at the California Institute of the Arts where she developed a voice conveyed in a combination of shooting, editing, performance, sculpture, song writing, and drawing. At CalArts she has brought ideas to the forefront that provoke a crucial dialogue about the current political issues in the Middle East and the United States. Her work critiques patriarchal power, the military industrial complex and the misrepresentation of women and Middle Eastern people in the mass media. Having both Western and Eastern heritage, she works to bridge the gap between East and West in finding a common ground in the humanity, history, and spirituality that they have in common. In May 2006, CalArts Filmmakers/Professors awarded Nabawia her MFA degree on their approval and recognition of the completion of her thesis, a feature length documentary, entitled My Father My Friend. On receiving her MFA at CalArts, she has produced, directed, and edited video work that has screened nationally as well as internationally in festivals such as Tarfest, Freewaves, Jackson Hole, and Busan in Korea and in juried gallery shows such as “In America Now” at the Don O’ Melveny Gallery juried by Peter Frank. She has been awarded the Women in Film Scholarship (August 2004) and received awards for her videos at the Shoestring Film Festival at the Koo’s Art Center for Hal Tara and at Gallery 825 for Human Beings in the “Open Show”.

Location:
Southern California

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