Feature: Gaza young lady masters horror cinematic make-up

A Palestinian young woman from the Gaza Strip is practicing the art of cinematic make-up on human bodies despite the lack of film industry in the Israeli-besieged territory.

Ala Abu Mustafa, 20 years old, makes scary masks on people's faces and create frightening forms of horror known as "zombies," both interesting and terrifying, to apply the art of cinematic make-up, a contemporary art used in visual tricks in movies.

Thirty years ago, there were ten cinemas in the Gaza Strip, but since the beginning of the Palestinian uprising against Israel in 1987, cinemas have been closed.

However, a number of Palestinian filmmakers have been active in reviving the idea of cinema in Gaza and others are developing their skills through the Internet.

Mustafa hopes to participate in a work on the Palestinian cause, such as films that allow her to use her art to present a realistic picture of the wounded and dead Palestinians in Israel's military attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Mustafa told Xinhua that she had developed her skills in the art of make-up in various forms over the Internet and through videos on YouTube.

Mustafa said she has improved her drawing talent since she was young after joining an online course.

The young lady explained that her first experience was inside the kitchen of their house in the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, where her mother was surprised by the blood flowing from her hand, believing it to be true.

"I made an injury in my hand by using my make-up materials with some colors and dyes, and my mother strongly supported my idea, which encouraged me to continue and develop my skills," she said.

Mustafa has been practicing the art of make-up about a year ago, and her initial experiences started on hands and fingers, before moving to drawing on the faces to begin the embodiment and making of the terrifying characters like vampires.

She explained that she is dazzled by the foreign specialists and started to follow their steps to master the details of the work.

Mustafa is a Palestinian refugee who lives with her eight-member family. Despite her love for drawing and her passion for art, she studies pharmacy at a local university.

She uses simple tools in her works to overcome Israel's ban on the import of cosmetics, adding that make-up is an art that uses artificial, food and other materials to create cinematic effects on faces and body parts such as wounds and holes.

Gaza has been placed under a tight Israeli blockade since Islamic Hamas movement seized the territory after routing forces loyal to President President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007.

The blockade has pushed Gaza's 2-million population deeper into poverty with inflating unprecedented unemployment rates.

"Lighting, backgrounds and other effects contribute to creating a new state of make-up, similar to what is found in horror movies and science fiction in particular," Mustafa noted.

Although she focuses on horror make-up, Mustafa admitted that she does not like horror movies and is afraid of many scenes of murder and blood.

The young lady looks forward to start her career in the film industry in Gaza in order to contribute to the production of films that serve the national Palestinian cause.