Light Ghazal

Hala Alyan performs her poem “Light Ghazal” to her reflection on a street in New York City.

director: Jake Alexander McAfee, poet: Hala Alyan, United States, 2025, 3 min, in English

About the Artist

Jake Alexander McAfee is a Detroit-born and raised filmmaker and creative visionary whose work spans photography, narrative filmmaking, and branded content.

Jake’s short films for Goodwill Industries, The Commute and 2ND LiFE, both earned critical acclaim, with 2ND LiFE receiving the HBO Best Short Film Award in 2015 and qualifying for Academy Award consideration for Best Live Action Short Film in 2016. He served as writer and director for Summer Stage Jubilee, which featured performances by Sting, Trey Anastasio, Norah Jones, and others, and earned Jake a New York Emmy nomination. He also wrote and directed From Our Stoop to Yours, a celebrated short film for the Brooklyn Public Library featuring Spike and Tonya Lee.

In addition to his film and live event work, Jake has collaborated with leading organizations such as the advertising agency Hogarth Worldwide, and, most recently, the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation.