We were lucky to catch up with Hannah E. Fahoome recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Hannah E., thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love it if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
Both sides of my big, multi-cultural family are working class people, so the idea of work came naturally to me and I learned from my grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins to take pride in it. My grandma started taking me to work and giving me little jobs when I was 4 or 5 years old. My dad put me to work cleaning carpets, when he started his restoration business, and I was thrilled to get my first ‘real’ job bussing tables in high school.
Since then I have worked as a waitress, a nanny, a receptionist, a bike mechanic, a sales clerk, and a marketing professional. I appreciate each job for what it’s taught me and the people I’ve met along the way. I always put 100% into what I’m doing; treating every job with the same passion and tenacity. Whether my role is assistant, manager, or director of the project, I will always show up, give it my all, and respect my coworkers and collaborators.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
As a Palestinian-American woman and CEO of Now Listen Here Young Lady!! LLC, a boutique film production company, I am passionate about creating interesting and dynamic stories that stand in opposition to mainstream media in the US. I chose this career because I wanted to see more diverse perspectives with fewer stereotypes portrayed in film. I’m inspired by the works of Maya Deren and Agnes Varda, as I believe independent filmmakers have more artistic freedom and tell stories more creatively.
My day job is creating video content and managing social media for the Arab American National Museum (AANM) and I’m proud to be one of the organizers of the museum’s Arab Film Fest this year, May 15-19th, 2024. I also give guest lectures on film philosophy, host educational screenings, and hold a BA in Film Production with Honors from Wayne State University.
My freelance work includes serving as Production Manager on Jesse McAnally’s feature film, “Daughters of the Domino,” and on a series of music videos for the singer-songwriter Sara Marie Barron. I am currently working with the award-winning Gazan author Yahya Ashour to create a series of experimental short films based on his poetry that will be released later this year.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Being an amateur is a superpower and young professionals should enjoy the creative freedom we have before we learn all the ‘proper techniques.’ Maya Deren says, “Instead of envying… the professional film, the amateur should make use of the one great advantage which all professionals envy him, namely, freedom…” (Amateur Versus Professional, 1956). No matter what stage of our careers we are in, we should always try to capture that feeling of raw passion and expression that comes from everything being fresh and new.
Another important aspect to my work is authenticity. To stand out among the endless content available today, you need to be authentically and radically yourself. Every person has a unique set of life experiences and perspectives and should use that to their advantage. If you try too hard to deliver what you think others want to see instead of what you see, your message will be lost.
Lastly, look for and find inspiration everywhere, including music, theatre, nature, politics, research, science, poetry, and more. There is nothing new under the sun, but we can find new ways to synthesize old things when we are creative about how we assemble our work. I might come up with a new scene by looking at a painting, or by babysitting a 6-year old child with their head in the clouds. Be curious and seek ideas everywhere.
What is your greatest challenge?
The biggest challenge I am facing now as a Palestinian artist is dealing with the horrifying impact of the war and genocide in Gaza. It’s hard to get inspired, create new work and believe the work has meaning, when you’re devastated. I sometimes have to set my creative practice aside to help the cause and support my community.
Though it can be a struggle to find your voice when things feel hopeless, we cannot give in to despair. Our voices have power, so we must always stand up with whatever resources we have and do what we can to make the world a better place. Bringing my heritage and passion for film together, one thing I am doing now to serve my community, is hosting educational film screenings and teach-ins about Palestine to help people understand the situation in Gaza.
It can be tempting for those of us in the US to turn a blind eye to the horrible issues in other parts of the world. But, it’s important to educate ourselves and get involved in the issues that affect our communities, whether that means supporting the struggle for land sovereignty, joining anti-war movements, or feeding hungry people in your community. It matters.
As artists, we are servants to the world. Making art in a vacuum, without a connection to the bigger picture, is a shame. I hope everyone reading this feels inspired to take their individual skills and strengths and pour them into the issues facing their own communities. As artists and humans, this is what we can do.
Contact Info:
- Website: nowlistenhereyounglady@gmail.com
- Instagram: @hefahoome
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahfahoome/
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@hefahoome
- Other: https://aanmfilmfest24.eventive.org/
Image Credits
Headshot— Jacob Sait Ermete All others— H.E. Fahoome