RABAB HAJ YAHYA
Rabab Haj Yahya is a Palestinian-American documentary editor based in New York. Best known for the award-winning feature documentaries, The Feeling of Being Watched (Tribeca, 2018 | POV, 2019), described as a "real-world conspiracy thriller" (Variety Magazine) for which she won Best Editing Award (Woodstock, 2018) as well as the Critic’s Choice-nominated Speed Sisters (Hot Docs, 2015 | Netflix), which the NY Times called, "subtly rebellious and defiantly optimistic".
A proponent of films that advocate for social justice, Rabab edited HBO’s The Legend of the Underground (Tribeca, 2021| HBOMax), which received rave reviews including from the Hollywood Reporter that highlighted “Rabab Haj Yahya's striking editing”. Also hitting the festival circuit in 2021 was Apart (HotDocs, 20201), a feature film that follows the issue of the opioid epidemic, drug sentencing, and rising incarceration for women.
Rabab has teamed up with some powerful directors to edit a number of shorts and series including Video Visit (SXSW, 2021), Reckoning with Laughter (The New Yorker 2021), Absolutely No Spitting (Tribeca, 2019), Love the Sinner (Tribeca 2017), and the Emmy-nominated web-series The Secret Life of Muslims (Peabody Finalist | Vox | USA Today, 2016). Rabab has also edited numerous documentaries for the critically-acclaimed TV documentary series Witness as well as for the Al-Jazeera Documentary Channel including Enemies of the South (2015).
A firm believer in giving back to the community, Rabab has dedicated time to helping aspiring editors and filmmakers as a mentor for KSFEF, Chicken & Egg, and BGDM. Her dedication to uplifting other filmmakers earned her the Palestinian, Sulafa Jadallah Award for outstanding contribution to women’s cinema. Rabab has also served as a consulting editor on numerous documentaries. Rabab speaks English, Arabic, and Hebrew fluently.
Rabab joins the New Mercury Collective as editor for our next operafilm, New York Stories.