Feature Films and Global Crises with Rana Kazkaz

Breaking Boundaries: A podcast from Northwestern University’s Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs

Using the power of narrative film to explore a current global crisis is not only a delicate art, but a personal passion for Rana Kazkaz. She is an award-winning filmmaker and Assistant Professor of Communication at Northwestern University in Qatar where she teaches narrative filmmaking. Her work focuses on Syrian stories with many of her short films recognized at the world’s leading film festivals including Cannes, Sundance and Tribeca.

She recently screened and discussed her first feature film, The Translator, at Northwestern as part of her appointment as the Roberta Buffett Visiting Professor of International Studies in the Program of Middle Eastern and North African Studies. In this episode she talks about her path to filmmaking and the ten year journey to making The Translator.