Dima Hamdan

Dima Hamdan (; born 1975) is a Palestinian-Jordanian-British filmmaker and journalist based in Berlin. Her short film Blood Like Water won the 2024 Iris Prize.

Early life Hamdan was born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents. Her grandfather was displaced from Umm Khaled during the Nakba, while her mother was "driven out at gunpoint" from Tulkarem during the Naksa in 1967. Amid Gulf War, Hamdan moved with her family to Jordan. Hamdan studied Law at Jordanian university. In an interview by Shoot’n’Post, Hamdan mentioned that she always dreamt of becoming a film director since she was 12 or 13, but at the time there was not a prospect of her going to film school as her family expected her to become a lawyer. At university, she studied law, but never practiced it. She eventually found herself getting into journalism because she thought it would be a good opportunity to meet film directors and actors.

Career Journalism Hamdan began her journalism career in 1997 working as a parliamentary cultural correspondent for The Jordan Times. During this she met directors and actors, which reinforced her early interest in filmmaking. Hamdan reported from cities like Baghdad, Jerusalem, and Beirut. As a freelancer, Hamdan has contributed to publications including The New Arab, The Markaz Review and The Badger Herald. She notes how her background in journalism continues to shape her. She prioritizes fact-checking, while developing narrative detail. won Best Arab Film at the 2009 Jordan Short Film Festival. That same year, her project My Name is Ali was selected for the Sundance Institute's RAWI Middle East Screenwriters Lab. This project was about two strangers whose lives intersect in Casablanca and discover they are linked and must delve back into their past demons. In 2010, Hamdan received the Abu Dhabi Film Commission's Shasha grant to develop a project titled The Kidnap, which was selected for the Hothouse workshop at the London Film School. This project was about a Jordanian policeman and how he goes on a hunt to find his kidnapped wife who’s due to give birth, but there’s a dark secret that this search leads him to. which was a runner-up for the Human Rights Short award at the 2019 Naples Human Rights Film Festival. In an Interview with Shoot N’ Post, Hamdan mentions how this film was shot under difficult circumstances with an incredibly dedicated team. She credits director of photography Frank Schwaiger, and line producer Olivia Stubbe. Hamdan described the film as "fictional" but "based on real information". Blood Like Water premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh, screened at the 2023 Brooklyn Film Festival, where it was awarded Best Narrative Short, and won the 2024 Iris Prize. In her acceptance speech for the latter, Hamdan condemned Israel's pinkwashing.

Dima Hamdan is developing her debut feature film Amnesia, produced by Tony Copti. Amnesia received an Atlas Development Prize at the 2023 Marrakech International Film Festival.

Personal life In 2009, Hamdan became a British citizen. She also holds Jordanian citizenship. ) The Bomb (2019, short, 21 minutes ) Blood Like Water (2023, short, 13 minutes ) Amnesia (TBA)

Awards & Nominations Brooklyn Film Festival, 2024 Winner, Best Short Narrative, Blood Like Water Melbourne International Film Festival, 2024 Nominee, City of Melbourne Award, Best Short Film, Blood Like Water Jordan Film Festival 2009, Best Arab Short prize winner, Gaza-London