Born in 1977 in Syria, I graduated in 2003 from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus in theater acting and started my career as theater actor and director. I gained a wide range of knowledge, skills and experience in various roles: as a theatre director of more than 10 plays staged in Syria, Lebanon and abroad, as a teacher at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts and theater trainer, and recently as a film director.
In 2011 and with the outburst of the popular uprising in his home country, I started to search for ways to interlace theater with film and gained first experience in short filmmaking by directing around 35 satiric short films that use puppet theatre to lampoon the unfolding events in Syria. As of 2012, my interest in documentary filmmaking led me to start working on my first feature documentary entitled “Home”, in which I depict over a period of three years, how the dream of living in a free country with space for artistic creativity and personal reveries was shattered and gave place to eventual disillusionment and exile.
In late October 2015, I arrived to Berlin/Germany.
Some examples of my work:
As a film director
First feature documentary film "HOME" (70min, 2015) which premiered at the Internatioal Film Festival FID Marseille 2015 as part of the International Competition and First Film Competition and won the Marseille Esperance Award; the film was shown at the DOK Leipzig Festival 2015, MedFilm Festival 2015 Italy, Forumdoc Brazil 2015, Which Human Rights? Film Festival Istanbul , Diarbakyr, Ankara 2015, Festival Journées Internationales du Film sur l’Art (JIFA) at Louvre Museum Paris/France 2016
35 satiric short films as part of project “Top Goon”, which combines puppet theatre with film (www.youtube.com/masasitmati). The online series uses puppet theatre to lampoon the unfolding events in Syria and was disseminated ia social media in Syria and worldwide. It shown in over 30 international venues such as the Victoria&Albert Museum London, Islamic World Institute Paris, Biennale Moscow, Prince Claus Fund Amsterdam, universities worldwide. Prestigious newspapers like N.Y.Times, Guardian, El Mundo, Le Monde, Spiegel and many others featured the project for which I used the pseudonym Jameel Alabyad for security reasons.
As a theatre director: Examples
“The wedding” (2013) Idea: Rafat Alzakout, written by Sari Mustafa; Puppet theater show that was staged in Manbij inside Syria at various places and in various Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon and Syria
Theatre reading of three short stories on the Syrian uprising “Salvation, A different dream, Promise” in framework of the Minassa Theatre Festival in Beirut at Shams Theater (2012), Actress: Amal Omran
"The Zoo story” by Edward Albee presented at the Opera House in June 2010; in addition to directing, I was also one of the two actors.
As a theater trainer: Example
Development and acting training for theatre play "Touta touta" (2015), a skills program for young adults Palestinian and Syrian refugeees for the Syrian entity for Arts and Culture Ettijihat:Independent culture
Support: My artistic projects were supported by international organizations, e.g the Prince Claus Fund, Hivos, the Heinrich-Boell Foundation Middle East Office, the Danish Centre for Culture and Developmen (CKU), the Shubbak Festival of Contemporary Arab Art and Culture and the British Council.
Email: rafat.alzakout@gmail.com
Instagram: rafat_alzakout_art