Since the release of the movie “The Neighborhood Storyteller,” based on the life of our ambassador, Asmaa Al-Rashed, it has garnered numerous international awards. Most recently, it received The Women’s Voices Film Festival Award in 2023. The film earned six awards as follows: the Toronto Women’s Film Festival Award, the Best Short Documentary Award at the Amsterdam Short Film Festival, the Excellence Award from Docs Without Borders Festival, and the Hague International Film Festival Award. Additionally, film director Alejandra Alcala received the Women in Film Award from the International Mountain Film Festival. Moreover, it was highly recommended at the Orion International Film Festival in 2022.
The film “The Neighborhood Storyteller,” produced by Home Storytellers and directed by Alejandra Alcala, was also an official selection at 28 international film festivals in 14 countries around the world. It has received nominations at major film festival awards to date.
“The Neighborhood Storyteller” documentary was produced in 2021, submitted by the Big Heart Foundation, and directed by Alejandra Alcala, co-founder of HOME Storytellers, a non-profit organization that employs the power of film to highlight sustainable solutions to the refugee crisis through character-driven short documentary films.
It was an official selection at the New York International Women’s Film Festival and a semi-finalist at the Dubai Independent Film Festival, the Flakers Rhode Island International Film Festival, and the International Social Change Film Festival. Additionally, it was a semi-finalist at the Atlanta Film Awards and a finalist at the Dublin Independent Film Festival and the Arctic Film Festival in 2023, in addition to the Bridge of Peace Film Festival.
It was also officially selected at the Portland Film Festival, La Famia International Festival, Syria International Festival, and other festivals such as the Santa Monica Film Festival, Sarasota Film Festival, the Women’s Voices Now Online Film Festival, and the Anatolia International Film Festival. Additionally, it was awarded an Honorable Mention at the Beirut International Women Film Festival.
In 2014, Asmaa received We Love Reading training and embarked on her journey as a We Love Reading Ambassador in the Zaatari camp. Despite facing numerous challenges, she established her own initiative in the camp.