Using film, photography, creative writing and performance, more than 30 Northwestern students recently worked to produce eight projects around the theme of ‘Borders and 
Boundaries’.
According to the format of the programme, over a 48-hour period, students guided by leading professionals conceive, develop and create varied media projects around a common theme that acknowledges the challenges of the blockade of Qatar. 
Beginning on a Friday evening and concluding on Sunday, when the work created is presented to the public, the festival emphasises collaboration and teamwork among students. While some students have performance roles, others work behind the scenes with operational and administrative responsibilities.
The NU-Q Creative Media Festival was supervised by Tom Casserly, a Northwestern alumnus and New York-based theatre producer, and George Bajalia, a theatre artiste and cultural critic from Columbia University.
“The festival is a platform for student creativity that benefits from exceptional mentors including a successful Broadway producer, a theatre artist, and an actor. Students work around the clock going through all aspects of creation and production to achieve a final result,” said Everette E Dennis, dean and CEO, NU-Q. 
In addition to getting support from Casserly and Bajalia, the participants will also work with Caitlin Cassidy, an actress and singer, who is a fellow with Georgetown University’s Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, NU-Q professors Rana Kazkaz and Hasan Mahmud as well as VCU-Q’s George Awde. 
Casserly and Bajalia, who have jointly organised the Youmein Creative Media Festival in Tangier, Morocco, since 2015, have extensive experience in the creative arts, theatre, and media industries.

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