Dareen Tatour – Biography

 Palestinian documentary filmmaker, writer, poet and social media activist from Reineh, Palestine. working at the intersection of cinema, memory, and social justice. My work focuses on personal and collective narratives as tools of testimony and resistance. I have extensive experience developing long-form documentary projects and seek to further develop my cinematic practice through professional training within an Arab and international film environment.

In 2015, she was tried and convicted in an Israeli occupation court for inciting violence and supporting a terrorist organization, following the publication of a poem on social media. She was released in 2018 after serving a prison term.
Since then, world opinion has drawn attention to her case. The BBC said that "the poet's case has become a cause célèbre for free speech advocates and has drawn attention to a recent rise in Israeli arrests - of Palestinians in the occupied accused of incitement or planning attacks online. "PEN AMERICA has continuously supported Tatour’s case, stating that her conviction “relies on a wanton mischaracterization of her work and is an unacceptable attack on freedom of expression in Israel”. Jewish Voice for Peace and Adalah NY has also openly supported her.
Tatour is the recipient of the OXFAM Novib/PEN award 2019 for freedom of expression. A Hebrew online magazine, Maayan, awarded Tatour the 2016 prize for creativity in struggle, and she was also awarded the Danish Carl Scharenberg Prize for standing against injustice through her poetry in 2017. In 2020 she won the Freedom of Expression Award in Norway - Oslo.
Running through all Tatour’s work is a double narrative of oppression against the Palestinian people and also oppression of women under a patriarchal society.
Since her release from prison, She was convicted on May 30, 2018, and on 31 July 2018 sentenced to 5 months imprisonment. She was released in September, 2018.
has appeared at events around the world, including Holland, Sweden and Germany. She was a guest speaker at the CREA conference on violence against marginalized women. “I, Dareen Tatour”, a solo documentary work by Israeli actress, director and activist, has been shown both in Israel and abroad, based on Tatour’s experiences.

Publications:
The Last Invasion, Nazareth: El Wattan Books, 2010
My Threatening Poem, Arabic, Tunis: Dyar Publishing and Distribution House, 2018.
Threatening Poem - Memoir of a Poet in Occupation Prisons, English Version. Scotland: Drunk Muse Press, 2020
I Sing From the Window of Exile - English and Arabic. Scotland: Drunk Muse Press, 2023
A Balcony Over a City Engulfed by War - English. Scotland: Drunk Muse Press, 2023

Film Experience

Al-Damon: War of Memory – Feature Documentary
Director & Writer
Long-term documentary project developed over more than 14 years
Explores incarceration, memory, and the Palestinian body under systems of control
Screened at international film festivals
Recipient of multiple awards, including:
Best Documentary Film
Best Director
Best Women’s Documentary
Best Palestinian Film

Other Artistic Ventures:
Survivors Recount, a documentary film on the uprooted village Al-Damoun in the Galilee, 2015, aired in Tamra, in the Galillee
Tell Me About My Homeland, 2012, an exhibition of photographs and poems displayed in Nazareth, Haifa, Tamra, Renne, Shefar’am, Amman (Jordan) and the Palestinian refugee camp Al Yarmouk in Syria. The exhibition was slated to open in Gaza in 2015, but was curtailed after Tatour’s arrest in October, 2015.
Survivors Recount, a documentary film on the uprooted village Al-Damoun in the Galilee, 2015.
I, Dareen Tatour”, 2018, a play in collaboration with theatre artist Einat Weitzman, directed by Nitzan Cohen and performed by Weitzman. This play has been shown at Tamu-na Theatre, Tel Aviv since October 2018 to packed audiences, and also abroad.
Min Hotfulla Dikt, 2022, a play in Sweden.
Not A Good Morning, short Documentary film, 2021.
Al-Damun, The War Of Memory, 2025 - Documentary film.
Awards:
2016: Maayan’s Award for Creativity in Struggle
2017: Carl Scharenberg Prize for standing against injustice through poetry
2019: OXFAM Novib/PEN award 2019 for freedom of expression.
2020: The Freedom of Expression Award in Norway - Oslo.
2020: ICORN: She was a guest on the ICORN program for two years. 15-09-2020 - 01-11-2022: ICORN residency in Sweden.
2022: Luleå International Film Festival Not A Good Morning, Best Short Documentary short Documentary film, 2022.
2023: The Palestine Book Awards 2023 - Creative AwardWinner - “I Sing From the Window of Exile”.
2025: Luleå International Film Festival Al Damun: War of Memory, Best Documentary film, 2025.
09/2025 "Al Damun: War of Memory" - Sofia International Film Festival - Best Documentary Film Direction Award.