Karim Oliver Ghazzal

My name is Karim Oliver, my pronouns are he/him/his and I'm Italian, British and Syrian.

I trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London on their BA in contemporary theatre making/applied theatre. Shortly after, a Masters in Film Production at The Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia: National Film School in Milan, Italy. Most recently, I undertook the Summer School in Creative Writing at The Scuola Holden in Turin, Italy.

I am incredibly interested in storytelling and dramaturgy. I aspire to be involved in the creation process within theatre / film / tv, be it as a producer, director or writer. I love work that provokes and sparks audiences to question our society - their thoughts and behaviour - particularly allegorical and paradoxical work that uses humor to subtly hide its messages and themes in plane sight.

Credits

CREATIVE PRODUCER, TEDx Royal Central School, RCSSD (London, UK), 9 months, 2020-2021.

PRACTITIONER and FACILITATOR, Performing Places Bexley, RCSSD (London, UK), 2 weeks, 2019.

PRODUCER, When Fear Knocked, RCSSD (London, UK), 1 week, 2018.

ACTING, Teacher and Parent, School of Rock, Redgrave Theatre (Bristol, UK), 1 week, 2017.

ACTING, Florence, The Play That Goes Wrong, Redgrave Theatre (Bristol, UK), 1 week, 2018.

ACTING, Rodolpho, A View From The Bridge, Wellspring Learning Community (Beirut, Lebanon), 1 week, 2016.

ACTING, Oliver Twist, Oliver! The Musical, Arts in English (Rome, Italy) , 2 weeks, 2012.

Training

The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London
BA (Hons) Contemporary Performance Practice: Drama, Applied Theatre and Education
2018-2021

This course has trained me to:
• Perform, direct and devise innovative performance outside traditional theatre environments
• Make theatre to change lives and inspire change in communities
• Research, think, discuss and write about the role of performance in society
• Develop skills in areas such as facilitating, devising, directing, performing, playwriting and filmmaking.

For my dissertation I analysed the experimentation of digital theatre in the United Kingdom, triggered by the pandemic. I analysed the different avenues taken, from the live stream or recording of a performance, to the use of the digital as a means to create a new theatrical experience; I evaluated the limits of this phenomenon and if it could still be considered theatre; I considered the impact that the digital could have in the future of theatre and if virtual reality could play a part in it.
Website: www.cssd.ac.uk

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Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia: National Film School
Masters in Film Production
2022-2023

The one-year Masters course in Film Production aims to train producers, evolved both in the ability to choose and develop projects, and in the compilation of budgets, funding, financial plans, marketing and also in the knowledge of the new frontiers of audiovisual production (transmedia storytelling, branded content, etc.). A full immersion Master's course covering all aspects of film and audiovisual production.

The Fondazione Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (Experimental Cinematography Centre Foundation) is an essential reference point for Italian and worldwide cinema. It maintains a film library/archive as well as run The National Film School, the oldest film school in Italy and Western Europe. It was established at Rome’s film studios district “Cinecittà" in 1935 and today has various campuses across Italy.
Website: www.fondazionecsc.it

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Scuola Holden - Contemporary Humanities
Summer School: Creative Writing
2023

Holden Summer School is an immersive learning experience. The course covers three areas with three different professors: Fiction Writing with Kate Williams, Non-Fiction Writing with Adam Leith Gollner and Screenwriting with Stephen Amidon.

The Scuola Holden (Holden School) was was founded in 1994 in Turn, Italy, by Italian writer Alessandro Baricco with the aim to train writers and storytellers.
Website: www.scuolaholden.it