Nada Al-Qawasmeh

To feel like an outsider is to feel human. Believing that you don’t belong in a given group is certainly not a desired experience, but indeed a natural one, if we are honest with ourselves. And perhaps, it’s one that builds character. Up-and-coming art director and stop-motion animator Nada Al-Qawasmeh was born in Jordan but raised in Saudi Arabia. Defining where it is that she fits was a challenge that posed itself early on in her life, yet tracking this universal emotion through the unveiling of her creative career is a sight to behold. 

Nada describes it as a “weird space where… I never acclimated to Saudi culture, [but] I don’t know my own culture because I didn’t grow up in or visit Jordan.” She would listen to her Saudi friends describe their family traditions and their experiences in Jeddah, and it would become clear that the way she identified with Saudi was different. Not a setback, but rather, an observation – one that never stopped her. “I put my worth in my grades. I produced really good work in school,” she says. Art and writing were always a passion of hers, but because of her academics, they were never a priority. Nevertheless, she made efforts to exercise her creativity, even applying and being accepted to a writing course in Great Britain. But before she could make it, COVID struck. 

Left in lockdown, Nada was feeling confused. One random day, Nada says she “opened Netflix and watched Gone Girl by David Fincher.” She was mesmerized by the film: the writing, the visuals, the storytelling. It was the first time she truly realized filmmaking – in other words, art – is someone’s job. “I remember sending my friends this entire block of text, analyzing the film,” she recalls. “I picked up some online art courses and fell in love with the concept of not only writing a show or a movie but also telling the story visually.” Nada decided she wanted to turn this passion of hers into an animation career, and she hoped to take her studies abroad. Not without deep consideration, first, though. Her parents couldn’t help but point out that entering the STEM field may be more fruitful, seeing as the film industry is still growing, and it would have been a natural fit for Nada because of her aptitude for biology. However, after much deliberation, Nada made her decision and majored in cinematic arts with a concentration in animation at Effat University. 

Nada went to university hoping to find her clique and develop her craft. “I thought, ‘I’m going to get better at drawing. I’m going to get better at 2D. I’m going to get better at being able to tell my stories visually.’ But I never saw that progress,” she says. There weren’t many foundational drawing courses and with limited experience, Nada was left feeling behind. She remembers questioning her entire trajectory: “If I’m not able to pick this up, how am I going to continue?” was the thought she wrestled with.  

But there was a saving grace. When she was doubting herself the most, she traced her way back to her roots, leaning on those closest to her: “My parents have been my rock this entire time,” Nada says. “I wasn’t feeling the greatest about my work. At two in the morning, I’d go find my mom awake in the living room. I’d sit and talk to her about my experiences,” Nada says. She explains it as having to rearrange things in her mind. Amongst “peers who were amazing, talented artists, I [was] comparing my work to them… and it was really difficult.” But conversations with her mom helped her break through the barriers of feeling out of place in her classes. She persisted down the course she was on until, finally, she reached the end of the tunnel: “In my sophomore year, we took intro to animation, and one of our assignments was to create a stop-motion film. That’s when I was like, ‘okay, this makes sense,’” Nada says. “It’s the craftiness of it,” she continues, “and the problem-solving.” For one film in particular, she worked to simulate a leaking roof. “I had a bucket with hair gel to imitate the water’s reflection, and for the drips and for the leak I used frozen hot glue.” And just like that, she found her niche. 

Creating these scenes, talking about them, directing them – it’s all a natural fit for Nada. You could look at her career thus far as a cycle of sorts – one that starts off with her being brave enough to enter an unfamiliar environment, then, when battling her own self-confidence, she perseveres by drawing strength from those closest to her. She evolves into the new space, cultivating her own unique path. As a recent graduate, Nada is already receiving honors, such as being selected as a finalist for the Sunflower Seed Foundation’s LA26 Animation Intensive, an honor that gives a glimpse into how Nada will surely repeat this cycle with success as she enters the animation industry.  

Written by Sydney Leclerc