MY STORY
contact: jamilmakhoul01@gmail.com
In the summer of 84, I was born in the Syrian town of Aleppo which is where I spent most of my childhood. As I was getting older and decided to expand on my academic pursuits, I moved to Damascus and enrolled myself in the faculty of Arts, Media and Journalism.
It was during my time at University that I delved into this newfound passion of telling stories visually. It was always exciting to use a camera to film and I joined many student initiatives to hone this skill further. I made several short films, reports and visuals and was gathering more confidence in my creative ability.
I kickstarted my professional journey in 2009 in Damascus when I got the opportunity to be a director for a documentary television show broadcasted on “Almashreq TV”. The documentary series showcased the different cities around Syria from a historical, cultural and political perspective. Soon, more intriguing opportunities came knocking at my door as the Television broadcaster decided to consolidate on its operations in my home town, Aleppo! So I moved back and supervised the visual identity and content of the news and films. I dabbled in this multifunctional role both as a supervisor as well as in the production of the series, “Tales of City”.
While this was an opportunity where I learned a lot, it wasn’t long before the Syrian government determined that we had crossed the “RED lines” and proceeded to shut down the TV channel’s operations. I subsequently moved to Dubai to start a fresh chapter of my life. We continued to produce more films and videos with the same channel but with a new look and name, “ORIENT” TV.
As a part of the creative team, I developed the content and identity of the programs and also involved myself with the direction of a programme with a medical theme.
I proceeded to work on various assignments with the company for about a year. It was 2011 back then and then abruptly began a series of events that would eventually turn to massive disturbances and displacement. The “Arab Spring” became a pan country phenomena that gave way to protests, uprisings and rebellions that were anti-government in nature. Things were turning grim and serious and I decided to return to my family in Syria. Things were uncertain and I wanted to be next to them in the midst of these developments. I was now out of work and unemployed.
As some time elapsed, I was invited by the Syrian TV network to work on some documentaries as a freelancer. They aspired to have some expertise and create better content that would appeal to the youth. I was promised some free space to create a TV program called “The colors of the youth” where I showcased some young, unique talents.
As 2012 was drawing to a close, Aleppo was getting ravaged by the war, so I decided yet again to move to Damascus and continue my work as a freelance producer and director and worked with various media outlets on multiple video projects.
The situation was not seeming to get better in Syria. The conflict was taking a toll on the media — the atmosphere was poisoned with the civil war and the media personnel were constantly abused. I was convinced that it was not possible for me to stay in my country anymore.
And so, I decided to run away — far, far away until I finally arrived in the Netherlands as a refugee in September of 2015. I was eventually able to obtain residency in June the next year. My wife arrived here in 2017 and we were blessed with a son in December 2019.
During my movement from one asylum center to another, I was accompanied by my friend who also came from Syria. We had similar passions and interests and wanted to just film and make videos again! We came across some wonderful people during this time who let us borrow their camera and we didn’t miss the opportunity to film people, things and ourselves — it was a great way to keep the energy flowing!
My last station was in Heerlen AZC where I met some people from “De Vrolijkheid Stichting” who are an active organisation in asylum centers and engage with children to create art projects. I eventually volunteered with them and worked on many projects as a videographer.
Since my arrival in the Netherlands over 5 years ago, I have been volunteering as a cameraman or editor in collaboration with many organisations or individuals and also did an internship with a firm called Masmedia. Being a refugee often comes with many hardships — one needs to safeguard the future of one’s family while attempting to feel at home in a new environment. And this inherently impacts your career and professional life particularly in a field like media.
I have a strong desire and motivation to find my footing and get a second shot at my dream so here I am, working hard with my course at the Forward Incubator to make this a reality. I am also very excited after the screening of the documentary i made with De Vrolijkheid and Cinesud, (GELUKZOEKERtjes) at Euregion film festival.
My focus now to extend the relationship Between my Company ZAJAL Media which i started up at the beginning of 2022 and the market who share the same goals of me such as the NGO’s or big organizations etc.
Trailer Gelukzoekertjes
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I was lucky to have my first client “Sectorinstituut Transport en Logistiek” to tell a story that crossed with ZAJAL media goals.
2022–2023, I’m participating with ‘ Bureau Ruimtekoers ‘ as a Film maker with a team to guide the students at Olympus Arnhem to achieve mini-documentaries.
https://bureauruimtekoers.nl/nieuws/wijkhelden-in-de-spotlights-wij-zijn-de-stad/
I still have the same excitement and mesmerization that I had when I was 17 but now I am empowered with a strong belief in myself and my ability. I want to leave an impact in the media world with my passion for story-telling and a unique perspective garnered through my experiences.
Jamil Makhoul
