About me:
Mohannad Ghawanmeh's expertise centers on Arab cinema, but extends into silent cinema, nonfiction cinema, transnational cinema, and religious cinema. Mohannad holds a PhD in Cinema and Media Studies from UCLA. He is recipient of the Teshome Gabriel Memorial Award, the Dr. Jack Shaheen Memorial Scholarship, the Otis Ferguson Memorial Award for Critical Writing, the Kemp R. Niver Scholarship in Film History, and a special mention from Domitor, the international society for the study of early cinema. Mohannad is Head of Development in Mimera Films and is engaged in two book projects, a cultural history of silent and early sound cinemas in Egypt, 1896–1934, and a monograph tentatively titled The Harem on the Screen.
Here is a current CV.
About Cinema Arabiata:
Cinema Arabiata borrows its name from the famed Italian Arrabbiata sauce. Hot and spicy just like my temperament, the sauce draws from the Italian word, meaning “angry.” But why angry? Because there is too much derivativeness, exploitation, insipidness and falsehood in cinema these days. Just as there is in popular US media coverage of Arabs it so happens. Cinema Arabiata aims to cover Arab cinema primarily, but not exclusively. Its ambition is to persuade my readers that cinema, including Arab cinema, has the demonstrated potential not only to inform and impact, but to profoundly move and inspire, to leave a lasting and indelible mark on the lives of it audiences. Cinema has helped shape me. I am better because of it. I invite you to celebrate it with me.
About Mizna:
Mizna is a forum for Arab American film, literature, and art. Mizna was founded in 1998 with the goal of providing a space for artists to present their creative work on their own terms, creating a counter dialog to that dictated by the predominant American culture. Mizna publishes Mizna: Prose, Poetry, and Art Exploring Arab America, the only journal of Arab American literature and has presented seven editions of the Twin Cities Arab Film Festival, as well as many other cultural events, featuring over 200 local and global writers, musicians, and artists.