Palestinian you should know: Nizar Wattad
The following was originally published in the Palestine in America Film Edition. Please support our work by ordering a print copy, downloading a digital edition or becoming a subscriber.
Nizar Wattad is an accomplished writer and producer who sold an original series to Netflix Arabia and a crime drama series in the United Kingdom.
During his time in grad school at the University of Southern California (USC), Nizar worked for Golden Globe winner and two-time Oscar-nominated director Hany Abu-Assad as his assistant on A Boy, a Wall, a Donkey. He helped with writing and production on the project.
Not long after he earned his Masters in screenwriting from USC in 2006, he was recruited by Walt Disney Pictures to write The United, the first Arabic-language film produced by a major studio. He was also head writer and lead producer of “Aya and Yusef,” an animated series for Muslim children.
Wattad joined the Palestine in America podcast to discuss his heritage, past work and ambitions.
Palestine in America (PiA):Where in Palestine are your parent(s) from?
Nizar Wattad (NW): My family is from two small towns in "the little triangle" near Nazareth. When I was a kid they were more like villages where everyone knew each other. Today they're quite a bit more busy and bustling. I'm sorry to say that it's been a long time since I've been back home.
PiA: What’s your earliest memory of a movie or show that resonated with you?
NW: There's an old “Popeye” cartoon from 1936–"Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor”–that featured creatures and characters inspired by [the book] 1001 Nights. I remember a scene in a market where the sign actually said "spinach" in proper Arabic, and that blew my mind that it was possible to see my language and culture on screen like that. Disney's Aladdin had the same effect. Orientalist tropes aside, these were the first instances of positive Arab representation I'd ever seen from Hollywood, which remain rare even today. In live action, I loved Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves mostly thanks to the character of Azeem. That's still my favorite movie.
PiA: When did you decide you were going to pursue your dream of being in the arts?
NW: I can't say that it was a decision as much as just what I had to do. I've been writing since I was very young, and huge chunks of my childhood were informed by TV, movies, comics and video games. I've had a few other jobs over the years, but [I] was always a storyteller at heart.
PiA: Is there an experience you’ve endured that highlights the Palestinian experience in the film industry?
NW: I really think everyone's experience is individual and influenced not only by their ethnicity but so many other factors, so it's hard to answer that question. I'll answer a different one: What is the best depiction of the Palestinian experience I've ever seen come out of the film industry? And that would be the sequence in the middle of Encanto that tells the backstory of the grandparents. I've seen it a dozen times and still cry like a baby every time.It’s a beautiful and heartbreaking depiction of loss, exile and strength. Most importantly to me, the film as a whole frames that loss as the start of something beautiful and magical–a celebration as opposed to a lament. It's very powerful, and something I think every Palestinian artist should take in.
