ZigZag Lawn Productions

We work we globally, but think individually–especially when it comes environmental heritage and art.

ZigZag Lawn Production is a non-profit organization committed to preserving and maintaining culture and heritage through the arts– including films, interactive media, podcasts, exhibitions and workshops. Our focus is on cultural heritage management as a way to towards negotiating the future in the wake of trauma, war and natural disasters, while placing the Arab and Muslim worlds in a global context. Our network of scholars, educators, filmmakers, graphic designers, artists and scientists have worked in partnership with non-profit projects in with other Asian, African and European organizations. We invite you to explore some of our work:

The Golden Harvest : A Documentary Film

A 6,000-year-old love story between the people of the Mediterranean and the olive tree. The film has played to enthusiastic audiences around the world and was shot in Italy, Spain, Greece and Palestine. Available in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Arabic. Distribution: Mad Solutions

Watch the Trailer

Tree Routed: An Interactive Documentary

“Tree” is one of the first words we learn in any language. That is because trees carry the story of our own roots. We invite you to meet some people and their trees. As climate change increasingly dominates public debate, we invite you to explore personal stories that people from around the world have recorded on their phones about a tree in their garden or neighborhood. These stories ultimately map the branches of shared heritage around different tree types—and concerns for their sustainability in the future.In partnership with CIE -Center for International Heritage in Amsterdam.

Explore Work in Progress

Datelines: A Documentary Film

A feature documentary in which the date palm – and the odd characters who shaped its journey – take us on her adventures from Arabia to the rest of the world and back in a sometimes troubling story of love, migration (willing and unwilling), war, modern science and climate change. People often compare Dubai and the other modern Gulf cities to Los Angeles, claiming their relative newness, wealth, and extravagant lifestyles. But beneath that veneer, these are cities that are a part of deserts that long before oil grew an ancient tree . In pre-production.

Watch the Teaser

HeritageLab: Education Innovation and Communities

HeritageLab recognizes heritage as a powerful agent in our understanding of our past and our path towards the future, whether in geopolitical, environmental, or social contexts. HeritageLab seeks to unearth, document and celebrate forgotten or erased heritage narratives around objects, places and collective memory in what we could call emerging or re-emerging pasts.

Learn More

ZigZag’s Path

We are named after boy whose life didn’t follow a straight road. He had a lot of questions about the past and the present– but was mostly excited about the future. And also concerned. That’s who we are, too. While we are based in Jordan, we cross spaces, generations and other divisions imposed on humanity. Since 2014, we have been questioning or re-examining shared, contested and forgotten heritage, and our method is art, especially film. We understand the power of both fiction and non-fiction to tell a story.

We work in partnership with other non-profit organizations, including CIE-Center for International Heritage Activities in the Netherlands, a UNESCO affiliate. Our work has been showcased at venues around the world and won several awards.

A little bit of news:

Alia Yunis accepted the award for HeritageLab at the 2024 Awards for World Heritage Education Innovative Cases, by the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for Asia and the Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (WHITRAP) at the UNESCO 46th session of the World Heritage Committee, New Delhi, India.

The Golden Harvest continues to play at events around the world. In Fall 2024, it will play at the Cheltenham Film Festival in the UK and at Casa Arabe in Spain. Also a rumor about Australia.

Book talks and podcast interviews in various locations continue for Re-Orienting the Middle East: Film and Digital Media Between the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean and Arabia Sea. Published by Indiana University Press. We will p the podcasts once with Afikra when they are released.