Digital Arts and Media BDP, Undergraduate, Dir. Huda Abdul-Razzak, 2008
Synopsis: During the winter of 2008, there was a 22-day war in Gaza initiated by the Israeli government, in which over 1300 Palestinians lost their lives (410 children and 104 women), and over 5000 injured. However, the coverage of the war in the US mainstream media drew much criticism, some claiming that it was heavily biased towards the Israeli government’s perspective. This short documentary analytically looks at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as is represented in the mainstream media, and specifically the recent Gaza war that lasted from December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009. Was there a deliberate approach in the media to depict the event a certain way? This question is explored as a part of the main premise and plot of the film, addressed by professors and graduate students in the University of Texas departments of Journalism, Government, and Radio, Television and Film. Threaded throughout the documentary is a fictional story about a news anchor giving a report about Gaza when he is forced to confront a moral dilemma: he can either follow a scripted, but more biased portrayal of the recent events or take the risk to say what is on his mind. TRT = 6 min 48 sec
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Director bio: Huda Abdul-Razzak was born in Chicago and raised in South Texas. While studying biomedical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, she developed an interest in filmmaking after taking a communication course. Recognizing film’s potential to inspire social change, Huda decided to pursue an additional certification in digital arts and media. She directed and wrote her first short documentary “History Matters” in the spring of 2009. Since then, she continues to create new documentary films that raise awareness on political and social issues.
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All content on this page courtesy of Huda Abdul-Razzak, and may not be copied, reproduced or otherwise redistributed without express permission. Info last updated 06/28/09.
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