BIO
I'm an Iraqi-Canadian multidisciplinary artist with a strong background in journalism and filmmaking. My art practice is grounded in questioning gender relations, political power and history-making through collage, cinema and ceramics. As an MFA candidate at OCAD U, my thesis proposed dreaming as an archeological methodology for excavating possible futures in Iraq with an exhibit featuring clay artifacts and a film that contextualizes them.
As a filmmaker, I wrote and directed the anthology film "Bêtes Humaines", which was funded by TV5 Québec (2011). It was officially selected by the Newport Beach International Film Festival and Montreal's Rendez-Vous du Cinéma Québecois. In 2017, I co-wrote and co-produced the Iraqi feature film "Haifa Street" with Baghdad-based director Mohanad Hayal, which won awards at the Doha Film Institute, Cairo Film Festival, Busan Film Festival and Carthage Film Festival among others.
I acknowledges the privilege of growing up in Turtle Island, where indigenous people have been subjected to the same colonial powers that occupied and still interfere with my own motherland.
contact: halaalsalman@ocadu.ca
CV
EDUCATION
2024 OCAD University MFA Interdisciplinary Arts, Media and Design
2020 Yale Certificate via Coursera, Introduction to Psychology
2002 Concordia University BA Communication Studies, Minor in Political Science
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 Remember the Future: Oneiric Artifacts from Mesopotamia, The Graduate Gallery, Toronto, ON, CA
2022 Haifa Street, Babylon International Festival, Babylon, IQ
2020 Haifa Street, Cairo International Film Festival, Cairo, EG
2020 Haifa Street, Busan International Film Festival, Busan, KR
2012 Bêtes Humaines, Newport Beach International Film Festival, CA, US
2012 Bêtes Humaines, Rendez-Vous du Cinema Québecois, Montreal, QC, CA
2010 PHATWA, Off The Hook Boutique, Montreal, QC, CA
GROUP SHOWS
2024 Expressions of Critical Thought, Aurora Cultural Center, Aurora, ON, CA
2023 The Aliens Aren't Coming, OCAD University, Toronto, ON, CA
2023 Too Big To Fail, OCAD University, Toronto, ON, CA
2022 The Incomplete, OCAD University, Toronto, ON, CA
2004 Iraq War Exhibit, Fivegreen Boutique, Dubai, UAE
FILM FESTIVAL WORKSHOPS
2018 Venice Biennial - Venice Production Bridge
2017 Carthage Film Festival - Producers Network
2017 Tribeca Film Festival - TFI Network
2016 Doha Film Institute - Qumra
AWARDS
2024 OCAD U Travel Grant for "The Rod and The Ring"
2023 OCAD U Grad Studies First Year Award
2022 CGS-M Award, SSHERC
2018 Doha Film Institute, Post Production Fund for "Haifa Street"
2010 Le Fonds TV5 production fund for "Bêtes Humaines"
2009 Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec for production of "PHATWA"
PUBLICATIONS / PRESS
Featured in: Carnation Zine, Vol 3 (Fire), September 2024
Interview: This Art Show is Too Big To Fail by Chris Dart, CBC Arts, April 2023