Palestinian Film Festival
Submitted by Sheyma on April 20, 2009 – 12:47 pmOne Comment
The 10th Palestinian Film Festival will by hosted by the Barbican Center and our very own SOAS. Starting from the 24th of April, running till the 8th of May there will be movies, talks, a photography exhibition, an evening of poetry and a plan for ongoing ‘mini-series’ screenings of short films.
The link for more information: http://www.palestinefilm.org/index.asp
SOAS screenings are free, while Barbican screenings require tickets – look for the ones with Q & A’s with the crew/cast.
Popularity: 18% [?]
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The festival has begun, and I’m thinking perhaps whoever goes to see the films can share reviews right here.
I went to see Laila’s Birthday yesterday, while the film itself was ok, the Q & A with actor Mohammed Bakry afterwards was very interesting and put a lot into context.
The film was 70mins long, about a man, a previous judge now working a taxi till he gets back his job as judge. We go along with him through his day and witness the kinds of tribulations that one in Ramallah would encounter. He doesn’t drive to checkpoints, he doesn’t carry anyone armed; amidst the chaos, he is concerned with seatbelt laws and has faith in the police force.
There were some good points and some bad points. The good are probably more important to mention. It is the first time I see a Palestinian city in cinema, the use of Ramallah as the space-ground for the narrative was very intriguing. The fact is, that most people who have never been to Palestine (myself included) have probably never seen Palestinian cities in ‘everyday’ context, the only images we’ve seen are those on the news. The portrayal of everyday life was more human, and indeed from an ‘everyday’ perspective. What the audience sees is a point-of-view that life continues in Ramallah. The film is somewhat of a critique of Palestinian society stating that not all problems may not be due to the occupation.
The Q & A started with that point. It’s hard to imagine when, though I’ve not experienced it, living in occupation is probably something that would affect most points in people’s lives. But Bakry is saying that this film has a positive outlook in the sense that the makers of the film are seeing beyond the boundaries of occupation lead life, the occupation doesn’t affect people’s interaction with each other, ones love for his family, treatment of his loved ones. He’s basically telling people to be their own masters, to control their own lives, and take their own choices on what to value and prioritize.
Of course the conversation did move to the political where someone asked the question of whether it would make a difference if the film was shown to an Israeli audience. I am not sure what kind of ‘difference’ this person meant, as there are more hard-hitting films that focus much more on the occupation and directly with the struggle than this film did. But Bakry went on to explain that the people who control the situation are not the public, but their government and that the public is lead by a twisted media that tells a difference story from the reality.
Going back to the object of the film, he discussed the difficulties of shooting in Ramallah, where the chaos is ongoing and the society is small – people ask a lot of questions and like to chat. But he hopes that the film will encourage more Palestinian directors to work, and not be intimidated by low budgets. And he also hopes that the film has communicated an air of optimism in the everyday life perspective of the people in Palestine.