First Picture

First Picture

First Picture (2006), tells the story of a Palestinian child from the Tulkarm Camp for Palestinian refugees. This child was born in one of the Israeli occupation prisons. After spending more than two and a half years in prison, he was released independently from his mother, who remains imprisoned by the Israeli occupation authorities. The film follows the child's adventures outside of prison under the protection of his family and with the companionship of his mother's freed friends from prison, exploring how his experience in prison shapes those adventures.

Akram Alashqar

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

For over ten years, he has served as a film and media faculty member at several Palestinian universities.

Alashqar’s films include First Picture (2006), Red, Dead, and Med. (2006), Paper War (2007), and he produced Five Boys and a Wheel (2016). Red, Dead, and Med. (2006) delves into the lives of Palestinian children of the occupied 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 played a pivotal role in establishing three cinema centers, including two innovative cinema buses. His passion for film and community engagement inspired him to develop specialized filmmaking curricula and facilitate numerous workshops for children and youth, fostering a love for storytelling and the arts in the next generation.

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.