Director: Alejandra Alcala Producer: Francisco Alcala
Description:
War tragically pushed Asmaa out of her home country, Syria, where her destiny had been written as a wife and mother with only 16 years of age. Asmaa rebuilt her adult identity as the neighborhood storyteller and began using reading aloud to children for fun as a bridge to tackle critical issues in her new community at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. Six years later, with Asmaa’s first born daughter reaching adolescence, a flashback of her education-deprived past emerges and inspires her to embark on a new read aloud project to empower teenage girls to build a future of opportunities she never had. Despite her complex living situation as a refugee and the community’s conservative mindset, Asmaa is determined to raise a conscious generation of successful women.
Biography:
Alejandra Alcala focuses on post-production, storytelling and design. A year ago, she co-founded HOME Storytellers, a nonprofit that uses the power of film to shed light on sustainable solutions to the refugee crisis through character-driven short documentary films. She finished her first production Hot Dogs on a Tricycle, and worked on this film as Creative Director and Editor. She is currently in the development phase of her upcoming impact film to help refugees in Malawi.
Francisco Alcala is a Mexican social documentary photographer who creates documentary images and visual narratives that bring to light the positive sides of society. His natural sense for composition and light in combination with his optimistic and empathetic attitude enable him to capture significant moments through photographs with strong formal qualities that inform both the intellect and the emotions. His aim is social change with specific emphasis on community empowerment initiatives. Either working on editorial assignments, storytelling for social enterprises and nonprofits or on personal projects, Francisco draws from more than 30 years of successful international corporate business experiences and a MFA in photography.
