Valantina Abu Oqsa
Valantina Abu Oqsa is a Palestinian actress, theater director, poet and playwright. She was awarded the 2012 Etel Adnan Award for Women Playwrights announced for her play I Am Free,[1][2][3][4][5]
Early life[edit]
Abu Oqsa was born in Mi'ilya village, in the Upper Galilee, in the north of Israel, on 3 December 1967. She lives in Haifa, Israel, with her husband and children.[6]
Career[edit]
Abu Oqsa is a member of the Managing Committee of the Tenth International Women Playwrights Conference (WPIC)[7] in Cape Town. In 1986, she started her career in theater with Al Hakawati theater Group[8] in Jerusalem after a year and a half of studying theater in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. At the theater, she is an editor, writer, director and producer. She participated in theatrical productions in Palestine, and performed in cities in Europe, the United States and Arab countries, in several languages. She is one of the co-founders of the Palestinian theater League[9] in Jerusalem.
On 9 April 2002, during the Battle of Jenin, a group of Palestinian activists tried to deliver supplies and medicine to the Jenin Refugee Camp. Abu Oqsa was among them and was shot in the left arm by an Israeli soldier, and as a result completely lost the use of her left elbow. She became known as the "Struggler artist" to Palestinians.[10]
Plays[edit]
Her play I Am Free was described as "poignant, realistic and cruel, it is a dramatic political statement. Her enchanting language, her full-fledged characters of unusual depth and her unique approach to a very important theme, arouse - or should arouse - the admiration of other playwrights, regardless of class, gender, taste and ethnicity."[11]
Actress[edit]
- The Youbeel
- I Am Free/I'm Free...
- Kofr Shamma
- Natreen Faraj (Waiting for Godou)
- Kharbasheh fi Mahatta (A Mess in a Station)
- Al Aydi Al Qathera (The Dirty Hands)
- Bait As Sayyeda” (The House of Bernarda Alba)
- La…Lam Yamot” (No... He Did Not Die)
- The musical theater play “Gilgamesh did not die” (adapted from the Greek legend Gilgamesh)
- Blood Wedding
- Mahatta[citation needed]
Writer and director[edit]
- Co-directed and co-wrote Kharbasheh fi Mahatta (A Mess in a Station)
- Wrote and directed The Dream.
- Adapted and directed Shababeek Al-Ghazala (Windows of The Deer)
- Wrote and Directed puppet show Nus Nseis
- Established and managed the Project “Child Artist” in Haifa 2001-2005[citation needed]
Theater festivals[edit]
- the first Palestinian theater Festival (Kharbasheh fi Mahatta)
- Rooted Moon International theater Festival[12] (The Dream)
- Amman International theater Festival - Amman, Jordan (Mahataa)
- Qirtaj International theater Festival - Qirtaj, Tunisia. (Blood Wedding)
- International Women Playwrights Conference (WPIC) in Stockholm[citation needed]
Poetry[edit]
Abu Oqsa has written poetry since 1981. Her first poem was published in 1984, in Al Etihad. She had ten of her poems published in various Palestinian newspapers and in 1999 she published her first poetry book, فالنتينا أبو عُقصة.[13]
Film and television[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Mazeh Fee Jad | Umm Sami | TV series |
| 2008 | Laila’s Birthday[14] | Woman in the queue | |
| 2008 | Pomegranates and Myrrh[15][16] | Mariam | |
| 2008 | My Simple Story | The mother | |
| 2015 | Love, Theft & Other Entanglements[17] | A blind woman |
References[edit]
- ^ Qualey, M. Lynx (2012-09-16). "Palestinian playwright Valantina Abu Oqsa on 'I Am Free'". Egypt Independent. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
- ^ "Valentina Abu Oqsa | Al Bawaba". www.albawaba.com. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
- ^ "Valantina Abu Oqsa on the Theater, Awards, and How She Wrote 'I Am Free'". ARABLIT & ARABLIT QUARTERLY. 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
- ^ Schön, Margaretha (2012-08-17). "Valantina Abu Oqsa får dramatikerpris". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). ISSN 1101-2412. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
- ^ "Valantina Abu Oqsa blev årets vinnare av Etel Adnan Award | Riksteatern". via.tt.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-11-10.
- ^ "Palestinian playwright wins 2012 Etel Adnan Award". Retrieved 2016-07-07.
- ^ Tenth International Women Playwrights Conference (WPIC)
- ^ Al Hakawati theater Group
- ^ Palestinian theater League
- ^ "Valantina Abu Oqsa : : فالنتينا أبو عُقصة". www.valantina.org. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
- ^ "Dramatikern Valantina Abu Oqsa prisad av Riksteatern". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). 2012-08-17. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
- ^ Rooted Moon International theater Festival
- ^ "Valantina Abu Oqsa : : فالنتينا أبو عُقصة". www.valantina.org/. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
- ^ Laila’s Birthday at IMDb
- ^ Pomegranates and Myrrh at IMDb
- ^ "Valentina Abu Oqsa - SFdb" (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-11-10.
- ^ Love, Theft & Other Entanglements at IMDb
External links[edit]
- 21st-century Palestinian actresses
- Palestinian dramatists and playwrights
- Palestinian film actresses
- Palestinian stage actresses
- Living people
- 1967 births
- 20th-century Palestinian actresses
- 20th-century Palestinian women writers
- 21st-century Palestinian women writers
- Palestinian women poets
- 20th-century Palestinian poets
- 21st-century Palestinian poets
- Palestinian women dramatists and playwrights
- 20th-century dramatists and playwrights
- 21st-century dramatists and playwrights