Leesa Qawasmeh is a Palestinian-born Arab American student filmmaker based in Orange Country, Southern California.
She is currently a junior at El Dorado High School in the Digital Media Arts Academy.
Aside from being a filmmaker, she is also a digital artist and aspiring cover artist. Leesa’s interest in art began from a very young age, and her film interest tagged along later on. As a child, she loved to draw all the time, so much that even her parents have never seen her do anything else, proving her love for art. As her interest grew, her interest in film began to grow as large when she began to imagine herself making films or being in them even. She gave video creations a try when she tried doing YouTube in 2018, making Gacha videos but the outcome resulted in her dismay when people seemed to enjoy trends that she hardly cared for rather than her actual work. This issue resulted in her quitting YouTube in 2020 after being MIA for months but she never got rid of her interest.
In late 2019, she would randomly record videos of her, or her family or her friends when she got the chance and felt like it was the right time to do so, however she would never post any of them even though she enjoys rewatching the videos she’d record. In 2021, she returned to her second interest which was drawing, she began learning to draw digitally when she began high school at Valencia High School, she would sit alone and would draw her own characters or friends’ characters, thriving to improve her skills to best it can be.
While balancing her art practice, Leesa returned to the filmmaking world when she had moved to El Dorado High School for her remainder of high school, while she entered as no stranger to the world of media, she also entered a newcomer as she came to grow into a better filmmaker as a student than she had ever been before when she just 10 and barely getting by with her previous lack of knowledge and experience. With film and art, Leesa also recently began to practice using her voice for singing, as her new dream of being a cover artist had just blossomed and is beginning to grow more, if she wants to, she may even consider original music of her very own.
Serbest International Film Festival Kishinev, Republic of Moldova
2023
Education
High School
Valencia High School
World Language & AVID
2021 – 2022
High School
El Dorado High School
Video Production, Lacrosse & Choir
2022 – Present
High School
FilmED Academy Of The Arts
Digital Arts, Film & Cinematography
2023 – Present
Personal Details
Birth Date
August 12, 2007
Nickname
Lees, Lia
Birth City
Oppsala
Current City
Placentia
Hometown
Placentia
Height
5’6
Gender
Female
Ethnicity
Palestinian
Eye Color
Brown
Zodiac Sign
Leo
Trivia
- She speaks English, Arabic and is currently attempting Japanese
- She has loved art and been drawing from a young age
- In her short “My Life in 5 Minutes”, she explained that when she was younger, she used to make paper dolls, then she and her sister would play with them.
-Her little sister used to call her Lia, which was part of a username when they would game online
-Most days, she ends up talking and acting to herself in front of a mirror, which her family has caught her doing several times
Quotes
“ Every single person has the right to dream. After all, you can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket.” -Taishi Gotanda (Oshi No Ko)
“Don’t ever give up. Even if it’s painful, even if it’s agonizing, don’t try to take the easy way out.” - Jigoro (Demon Slayer)
A high school filmmaker and artist based in Placentia, California.