Akram Alashqar is a Palestinian filmmaker and educator hailing from Tulkarm, Palestine.

For over 12 years, he has served as a film and media faculty member at Al-Quds University, and Palestine Technical University.

Alashqar’s films include First Picture (2006), Red, Dead, and Med. (2006), Paper War (2007), and he co-produced Five Boys and a Wheel (2016).

His first documentary film, First Picture (2006), tells the story of a Palestinian child from Tulkarm Refugee Camp. Nour, which in Arabic means light, was born in one of the Israeli occupation prisons. He spent more than two and a half years in captivity. Then, he was separated from his mother, who was still in prison at the time the documentary film was produced. The child starts an adventure of discovering natural life outside the prison walls and gates under the protection of his father and family, and the companions of his mother’s fellow political prisoners, who were also in captivity for defending their people, but he is still very affected by the memories of his experience in prison and missing his mother.

Red, Dead, and Med. (2006) delves into the lives of Palestinian children of the West Bank, fixated on a sea they’ve never seen, despite Palestine being located on three seas from which the film’s title is derived.

As a project manager with the Royal Film Commission in Jordan, he had the opportunity to help establish three cinema centers, including two unique cinema buses that brought the magic of film to unexpected places. Driven by his love for film and community, he developed specialized filmmaking curricula and led many workshops for children and youth. Through these efforts, he has had the privilege of introducing many young people to the joys of storytelling and the arts.

Alashqar is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Glasgow. His research focuses on the aesthetics and significance of sound tracks in Palestinian revolution cinema.