Photo by © Ranja IssaJumana Isabella Issa is a Film Director based in Zurich, Switzerland.
Jumana, born in 1994, is a Palestinian/Swiss Filmmaker based in Zurich, Switzerland. Jumana studied Film at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and completed her bachelor's degree in 2021 with a focus on screenwriting.
Her graduation film Es muss (It must) (co-directed by Flavio Luca Marano) won the ZHdK Förderpreis (sponsorship award) for the best graduation film of the year. IT MUST celebrated its world premiere at the 74th Locarno Film Festival were they won the "Best Swiss Newcomer Award". Es muss (It must) was shown at other renowned festivals worldwide: including Clermont-Ferrand, Brussel, Dresden, Brest or at Show Me Shorts in New Zealand.
Jumana collaborated with artist Tina Omayemi Reden on the short film Dried out, we had forgotten our speech, which was shown at the „Karl der Grosse“ debate theatre in Zurich and at the „Cinema Noir“ cinema series in Bern. Jumana is also a Cinematographer and has worked with
Deborah-Joyce Holman, Ivan Cheng or the curator duo Fredi Fischli & Niels Olsen.
In 2022 Jumana Isabella Issa and Flavio Luca Marano founded their production company Sinn sieht sich Filmproduktion GmbH. She works there as a producer and director. She lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland.
Awards:
2021 – Locarno, Locarno Film Festival, Best Swiss Newcomer Award
Pardi di domani - Concorso nazionale (Winner) for Es muss (It must)
2022 – Beirut International Women Film Festival – Winner best short
for Es muss (It must)
2023 – Arctic Film Festival – Winner best short for Es muss (It must)
Residencies:
2023 – Locarno Spring Academy (Mentor: Radu Jude)