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Lama Al-Arian

@lalarian

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Filmmaker🎥 7x @theemmys.tv
ex @vice
From the land of sad oranges🍊
📍في المشمش 🦋

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Wanted to intro myself again if you’re new to my page: I’m a Palestinian journalist & filmmaker, born in the US and grew up in Cairo. For the past 12 years, this work has taken me across Libya, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Palestine, Iran, Tunisia and Lebanon, where I’ve lived for the last decade.

We’ve interviewed presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, soldiers, settlers, militants and war criminals. We’ve sat across from world leaders while they waged wars, questioned officials responsible for violence and spoken to people living on every side of the conflicts we covered.

We filmed a 16-hour bank heist, hunted for jinn in Oman and somehow ended up having an exorcism performed on me.

But beyond the strange adventures, I’ve spent years witnessing people in the most vulnerable moments of their lives.

War shows you the worst of humanity and the best of it. I’ve walked past mass graves, entered villages marked by ISIS atrocities and heard the screams of people who lost everything.

For years, I thought these were other people’s stories. Then Israel killed one of my best friends while he was filming in South Lebanon and suddenly grief wasn’t something I was documenting anymore.

Since then, I’ve taken a step back from everyday journalism, making only a few news documentaries each year, and have focused on feature-length documentary filmmaking.

Journalists don’t talk enough about mental health. There’s the cognitive dissonance and the burnout that you never really recover from.

But you learn to stay connected to being human while in the field… engage your senses, notice something beautiful.. eat something good.

And you learn how important your colleagues become. They become your family . They understand what others can’t and sometimes, quite literally, they save your life.

After 12 years and many adventures, that’s what I carry with me most. If you’re struggling with mental health please reach out to the people around you. 🩷🌷🦋 by @lalarian

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a month ago

Even the dead in South Lebanon can’t escape the bombs. Reuters journalist and our friend and brother @issamabdallah was killed in a targeted attack on Oct 13 2023 by Israel. The occupation forces then bombed the cemetery where him and his family members are buried in Khiam. We finally got to visit him now that Israeli forces withdrew from around the area. It’s a devastating scene in and around the town. Please say a prayer for our martyr taken in Al Khyam - South Lebanon by @lalarian

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2 years ago

We should never have to bury our colleagues for doing journalism. My latest essay for the @nytimes opinion is dedicated to my friend @issamabdallah . He’s just one of over 60 journalists killed by Israel while doing his job. Reporters without borders says the group of journalists were killed in a targeted strike. We want justice and we want accountability. But we know it probably won’t ever happen. Read full essay here https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/03/opinion/journalists-killed-israel-gaza.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare by @lalarian

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3 years ago

i see you/ my same eyes by @lalarian

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3 days ago

by @lalarian

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8 days ago

My mama is from GZA and we have many family members there. One of our relatives was diagnosed with cancer and needs urgent medical evacuation. Message me if you can help xxx by @lalarian

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14 days ago

Everything is more beautiful because we are doomed. Some side quests lately by @lalarian

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16 days ago

Happy 40th birthday wherever you are my love @issamabdallah. Our world has not been the same these last 3 years. by @lalarian

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22 days ago

@freemarwannow by @lalarian

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23 days ago

أنا أصلًا هبقى كويس ومفيش حاجة مضايقاني. شكرا ‏إسبانيا by @lalarian

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a month ago

For the past several years, I’ve been co-directing a very special film about the Palestinian national football team (w/ @liam0hare) and their bid to reach the 2026 World Cup, as the world they come from is disappearing.

We filmed as Gaza, my grandfather’s home, was being destroyed in a genocide. Players took to the field not knowing if their families were safe. Teammates and loved ones were killed.

Watching them keep playing through all of this heartache changed me, and changed the film.

We’re finally in the edit. We hope you’re as inspired by this team as we are. 🇵🇸 Over 1000 athletes have been killed in Gaza. This film is dedicated to them.

Produced by @jigsawprods , with executive producer Mandy Chang. by @lalarian

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a month ago

by @lalarian

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a month ago