Issa Touma
Photographer and filmmaker, Aleppo
Issa Touma is a self-taught photographer and film director based in Aleppo, Syria. His work can be found in several international collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and FOMU Museum in Antwerpen. His 2016 film, ‘9 Days – From My Window In Aleppo’ won Best Short Film at the European Film Awards, Best Short Film at the London Film Festival and the Tribute Award at the International Short Film Festival in New York. ‘9 Days – From My Window In Aleppo’ has been screened in over 60 festivals and about 50 cultural events worldwide.
His 2017 film, ‘Greetings from Aleppo’ opened the International Film Festival of Rotterdam (IFFR). It won the DIG Award in Italy in 2017 and the DirectorsNL Award in the Netherlands in 2018. ‘Young in Aleppo’, his latest film, won the Jury Award at the Paris Short Film Awards in 2023. Issa Touma was also a World Press Photo Contest jury member in 2023 and a World Press Photo Digital Storytelling Contest winner in 2019.
Issa Touma was an Artists at Risk (AR) Resident, hosted in cooperation with HIAP at AR-Safe Haven Helsinki. Following his residency, he returned to Aleppo and reopened his gallery, the LePont Gallery for Contemporary Photography.