Films running for awards
1948: Creation and Catastrophe
by Andy Trimlett and Ahlam Muhtaseb; USA, 2017, 85 min, English/Arabic/Hebrew Through riveting and moving personal recollections of both Palestinians and Israelis, 1948: Creation & Catastrophe reveals the shocking events of the most pivotal year in the most controversial conflict in the world. It tells the story of the establishment of Israel as seen through the eyes of the people who lived it. It is simply not possible to make sense of what is happening in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict today without an understanding of 1948. This documentary was the last chance for many of its Israeli and Palestinian characters, who have died since, to narrate their first-hand accounts of the creation of a state and the expulsion of a nation. |
A Long Hot Summer in Palestine
by Norma Marcos; France, 2017, 74 min, Arabic I was shooting a film on women with my niece Yara who was in my previous film and the "normal" daily life in the West Bank before the war on Gaza in June 2014. "I'm 16 and I've already been through three wars" said Farah Baker, a Palestinian girl in a tweet read by 70,000 people after the bombing of her house in Gaza. Shocked by this tweet, I knew that my film will take another direction. I then took my camera and encountered Palestinians in the West Bank. Through an artist, banker, a florist, a woman race driver, a woman mayor... we discover how they are affected by this conflict in their daily life, their solidarity towards Gaza and how they rebuild their society despite the Israeli oppression and violence. |
Accross
by Raffaelo Rossini; Italy, 2017, 58 min, English/Arabic Through the stories of some Syrian refugees who have been blocked for years in Turkish territories on the Syrian border, we will look at the consequences of the agreements between the European Community and Turkey. Work, education, home, rights, duties, inequalities, hopes, disappointments. Three Syrian guys that we have met on the border: Souleyman, salsa teacher, Hisham, volunteer physiotherapist in a Syrian war wounded clinic, and Nour a boy just arrived in Turkey after 22 days of attempts.. |
Back to Tell a Tale
by Yara Abou Haidar; Lebanon, 2017, 50 min, Arabic The memory holding five resistance fighters from different organizations starts playing in a documentary bearing witness on what they’d gone through. From Shatila Camp, Sheikh Mountain, Latakia Sea, and Fatima Gate, they all went after the enemy. They performed outstanding operations of great resonance, resulting in captivating them and torturing them for many many years in Israeli prisons. Today in light of the Prisoners’ Revolt and their hunger strike, we are going to tell the tales of these former prisoners: Ahmad Al Abras, Kifah Afifi, Anwar Yassin, Mohammad Ramadan, and Mostafa Hammoud. Despite of their intellectual, political, and religious differences, together they believed in upholding a rifle against the Zionist enemy. They are back to tell a tale, because untold tales fall in our enemies’ grip. |
Bayn Al Sama Wa Al Ard (Between Heaven and Earth)
by Sahera Dirbas; Switzerland, 2015, 12 min, Itanlian/Arabic A barber’s shop in Switzerland, kept by two Iraqi: A place where refugees from different nationalities come and meet, among them a Syrian woman, a Palestinian – Syrian refugee and anItalian immigrant. All of them tell their journey to Switzerland, their life in Exile and how they become stranger in exile and back in their origin country. |
Bloody Basil
by Elia Ghorbiah; Palestine, 2017, 14 min, Arabic Bloody Basil a film produced by the Social and Economic Policies Monitor – Al Marsad; reflects experiences of the Palestinian Female Workers in “Israeli” settlements and main violations faced. These violations are the result of the occupation’s policies that confiscated Palestinian farmers’ lands and turned them into workers in the settlements. |
Broken Dreams
by Mohamed Harb; Palestine, 2016, - min, Arabic The film tells the story of Madeleine, a 14-year- old Palestinian girl whose life has changed forever after her father loses his leg when his fishing boat attacked by the Israeli navy in Gaza life. Madeleine boldly takes her father's place on the boat. They become the financial provider of the family and the first professional yacht in Gaza.. |
Couscous: Seeds of Dignity
by Habib Ayeb; Tunisia, 2017, 61 min, Arabic "Couscous: Seeds of Dignity" is an invitation to open, serious and collective debate on the policies of food dependency pursued by all Tunisian governments from the end of the French colonial era until today. The film focuses on the political, social, economic and ecological conditions of cereal and demonstrates how the food question is in fact at the heart of the issue of individual and collective human dignity as well as local and national food independence and sovereignty. |
Detention
by Emtyaz Al-Mograbi; Palestine, 2017, 16 min, Arabic The film documents the status of the Al-Aqsa mosque and Jerusalem before, during and after the removal of the electronic gates set by the Israeli occupation at the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque after claiming that three young Palestinians carried out a martyrdom operation in the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. |
DisAbility
by Linda Paganelli and Margherita Pescetti; Palestine, 2015, 15 min, Arabic Dina, Eman, Sawsan are featured in the short movie. Three women with disabilities living in the Gaza Strip that thanks to the INCLUDE project, made by EducAid in collaboration with RIDS - Italian Network Disability and Development, had the chance to attend workshops, meetings, activities that led them, step by step, to realize their professional ideas and to know their rights of women with disabilities thereby acquiring decision-making power over their lives. The INCLUDE project aims to combat discrimination faced by disabled people in Palestine in the Gaza Strip by promoting rights and economic and social empowerment. |
Chadhaya el Ahlem (Dream Fragments)
by Bahïa Bencheikh-El- Fegoun; Algeria, 2017, 75 min, Arabic/French "I left my country after its leaders humiliated me and closed all doors on dreams and hope" - Tarek. "The situation of my country saddens me... We unfortunately destroy competence, awareness and beauty... I believe that things have become more than impossible" - Adel. "The ways of life are non-existent. Only means of suicide are available and they are many. You can die as you want, but to live, there's no way of life..." - Tahar. All of them are Algerian citizens.. |
Ahrar Fil Manfa (Free Men in Exile)
by Omar Kayed; Lebanon, 2017, 22 min, Arabic The Free Men in Exile movie talks about four Palestinian prisoners who were deported abroad upon demand from the Israeli occupation in the Wafa al-Ahrar deal. The first part of the movie is about their history of resistance, and the outstanding operations they planned or performed. The second part is concerned with how they were captured and their suffering in the occupation’s prisons. The third part covers Wafa al-Ahrar deal from the negotiation phase until obtaining freedom. In the fourth part, each resistance fighter tells us about the life he is leading and his work. |
Gaza
by Carles Bover and Julio Pérez; Spain, 2017, 19 min, Arabic After the last Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, once stop the bombing, the reality of the conflict disappears from the media. The documentary is a trip to Gaza in which, through various characters, we know the violation of human rights that exists daily in the occupied West Bank and the situation of blockade and war in which is trying to survive the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip. It is a trip through their cities, their people and also, somehow, their history under the occupation of Israel. |
Gaza By Her
by May Odeh e Riham Ghazali; Palestine, 2017, 20 min, Arabic A tribute to all the women in Gaza:the women who are trying to leave a unique imprint of change, love, and success, despite all the difficulties. It is an extraordinary experience that allows us to meet 4 women the singer, the fashion designer,the activist, and the mother, whom share their hope for a better future. |
Ghost Hunting
by Raed Andoni; France/Palestine/Switzerland/Qatar, 2017, 94 min, Arabic In order to confront the ghosts that haunt him, Palestinian director Raed Andoni assembles an eclectic group of ex-prisoners to build a replicate of Al-Moskobiya, Israel’s main interrogation centre, where he was himself jailed at age 18. From fragmentary memory, day after day, they give shape to the interrogation centre they all experienced, and re-enact its stories. As the walls of the cells rise, the tongues and the emotions loosen. |
Home
by Berber Verpoest; Belgium, 2017, 23 min English/Arabic What’s the reality of living in an occupied city? Everyone faces the same barriers but perspectives may be very different depending on where you come from and what your ambitions are. ‘Home’ tells the story of three young Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, each trying to build a future in their own way. |
Mate Superb
by Hamdi AlHroub; Palestine, 2014, 14 min Arabic Jerusalem: parkour is forbidden. But a group of Palestinian boys loves too much running, jumping among the buildings and obstacles, expressing their wish for freedom with their body strength. And they dream about an "impossible mission": doing parkour right by the Damascus gate, symbolic place of Palestine and occupation. |
Objector
by Molly Stuart; Israel/Palestine, 2017, 14 min, English/Hebrew/Arabic As a 19-year- old Israeli, Atalya is obligated to enlist in the armed forces. But she has witnessed military rule in the occupied Palestinian territories – a reality that most other young Israelis never experience – and one that leads her to become a conscientious objector. |
Off Frame AKA Revolution Until Victory
by Mohanad Yaqubi; Palestine/France/Qatar/Lebanon, 2016, 62 min English/Arabic/French/Italian Off Frame AKA Revolution Until Victory is a meditation on the Palestinian people's struggle to produce an image and self-representation on their own terms in the 1960s and 1970s, with the establishment of the Palestine Film Unit as part of the PLO. Unearthing films stored in archives across the world after an unprecedented research and access, the film begins with popular representations of modern Palestine and traces the works of militant filmmakers in reclaiming image and narrative through revolutionary and militant cinema. In resurrecting a forgotten memory of struggle, Off Frame reanimates what is within the frame, but also weaves a critical reflection by looking for what is outside it, or what is off frame. |
One Minute
by Dina Naser; Jordan/Belgium, 2015, 11 min, Arabic During the summer of 2014 Gaza war; in the battered neighborhood of Shujaiya, A -37year Salma takes her house as a shelter to protect herself and her daughter Alia from the attacks outside, until she receives a message informing her of their impending fate. ‘One Minute’ takes us through a journey between the moments When Salma receives funny text messages from a friend and when she receives an evacuation message from the Israeli Army. Powerless at the mercy of war tactics, all Salma and her baby have are those moments. |
Rasheed
by Samia Badih; Lebanon, 2016, 74 min, English/Arabic Samia Badih's film Rasheed documents the life of Badih's late uncle Rasheed Broum who was killed, at the age of 29, in an airstrike in the city of Sidon during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 – three years before she was born. More than 30 years after the tragedy, Samia goes on a quest to find out more about her uncle’s story of life and death, as it is told by the friends and family who survived him and knew him best, mainly his sister Rasha and his best friend Ghassan. At the heart of the film is the story Rasheed's sister, Rasha who has not coped well with her brother’s loss. Rasheed captures one of the many war stories from the southern city of Sidon, Lebanon through Badih’s own personal journey. |
Road to Sufsaf
by Nour Maatouk; Lebanon, 2017, 52 min, Arabic Ali Zeidan, a Palestinian engineer born in Al Sufsaf, reconstructs the map of his village. Al Sufsaf was the last village that fell back in 1948 under the zionist forces. The story started when the ex Prime minister of Israel David Bangorian quoting “adults will die and young people will forget”. It’s when Ali with a group of 3rd generation refugees decided to fight back history through memory and time bringing their village back to life. |
Rough Stage
by Toomas Järvet; Estonia, Palestine 2015, 74 min, Arabic/English Maher is a Palestinian man with a dream. An electrical engineer by trade, in his heart he’s a dancer. He wants to put on the first modern dance production at the cultural center in Ramallah, but those around him view this art form with incomprehension and disapproval. To make matters worse, the dance tackles the subject of freedom, a particularly risky subject for this former political prisoner. Maher’s parents are bewildered by their son’s plans; all they want is for him to get married. His brother believes that the country simply isn’t ready for such abstract art and advises him to provide more explanation. Money is desperately short, and the authorities aren’t being very cooperative. Nonetheless, Maher perseveres, because “We have to change something during our lifetime. If not, what is the meaning of one’s existence?” |
Sorry I Drowned
by Yaza al-Saadi; Lebanon, 2017, 7 min, Arabic The world has catastrophically failed millions of people fleeing war, persecution and despair. Calculating politics won out over moral and legal obligations to offer protection and assistance to those in need. Like a contagious disease, walls, fences and restrictive border measures rampantly spread causing countless thousands of people to die on land or at sea. This 7-minute animated film is inspired by a letter allegedly found on the body of someone who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea due to the prevailing cynical politics of our day. While we may not know of the truth behind who wrote the letter, we do know that what it depicts is real. This reality cannot continue. |
The School at Khan al-Ahmar
by Helen Eisler; UK, 2017, 17 min, English A small school for Bedouin children in the desert lands of the occupied West Bank has unintentionally become a critical player in the future viability of the two-state solution in Israel-Palestine. This film tells the story of the ‘mud and tyre’ school at Al Khan Al Ahmar, where an on-going legal battle struggles to overturn demolition orders and imminent forced eviction by the Israeli government, and explores the impact on the surrounding Bedouin Palestinian communities. |
The Sunbird
by Ayed Nabaa; Jordan/Palestine/Qatar/France/Germany, 2016, 60 min, Arabic/French/English The sun bird is an ancient Palestinian bird symbolizing freedom, This bird is now inscribed on many official Palestinian stamps produced and distributed in some European countries because there is no official post in Palestine. The Sun Bird and its design on the post stamps comes as an artistic action to declare the State of Palestine, this action is an attempt by Arabs and Foreigners artist since they believe that the Palestinian State still exists even if it does not show on the world map.. |
The Truth: Lost at Sea
by Rifat Audeh; Jordan, 2017, 56 min, English In 2010, a group of global activists and concerned citizens came together to launch the Freedom Flotilla, a convoy of humanitarian ships, to highlight the suffering of Palestinians in illegally-blockaded Gaza, and break this blockade. Israel attacked the Flotilla, killing and wounding dozens and imprisoning the hundreds more of international participants. This historic event transformed into a battle for the hearts and minds of the world. Shot from aboard the Freedom Flotilla, narrated by one of its survivors and following up subsequent media coverage, the film reveals how the civilian ships were attacked in international waters, and how the dead activists and their comrades who defended their vessels were portrayed in the aftermath. The film tells the story of the life-changing voyage preparations and launch, utilizing numerous footage sources, and analysing claims of Israeli spokespersons. These claims are juxtaposed with the survivors’ statements, including some never-before-seen footage from aboard the vessels. The film reveals what really happened and how it was spun in traditional and online media outlets. |
They Want Them Gone
by Hanaa Mahameed; Palestine, 2017, 22 min, Arabic. Among yellow dunes and rough mountains, there lives around 25 thousand Palestinians. The Israeli government has been trying for decades to limit them to the smallest area possible. In more than 40 villages denied of recognition lives the Negev Bedouins. They carry the Israeli nationality to stay in their homeland, but they are battled by being deprived from the basic rights and life conditions, such as housing, water, and electricity. The Bedouins want to live and develop on their grandparents’ historical lands, but the Israeli State has another plan. It wants to seize these lands and use them to expand Jewish settlements. To Israel, Bedouin Palestinians in the Negev Desert are nothing but a mirage. |
War of Antiquities
by Lana Shaheen; Palestine, 2016, 26 min, Arabic. A documentary that portrays another aspect of the Palestinian Israeli conflict through shedding light on monuments. The documentary shows how former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan stole Gaza’s antiquities. The documentary presents conclusive evidence on Dayan’s theft of Gaza’s antiquities and treasures. The War of Ruins also highlights the occupation’s attempt at stealing all aspects relevant to Palestinian heritage, from the currency and clothing, to the Kufiyeh as well. The documentary offers a glimpse of Gaza’s long rich history, and shows its importance on the civilization map since old times. Some of Gaza’s ruins shook the dust off, revealing their secrets and mysteries, while most ruins still await a time devoid of siege and occupation. |
Whispers of the Cities
by Kasim Abid; UK, 2014, 62 min. This film is made up of three separate visual stories, shot over a period of ten years in three different cities of the Middle East: Erbil in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq (2002), Ramallah in the West Bank, Palestine (2003) and Baghdad (2004 to 2012). There is no dialogue and no narration. It’s requires the viewer to watch and see and feel. I lived in these cites temporarily and filmed the life on the streets below from behind windows and on balconies, to reveal the daily struggle of the human spirit in this region, express a faith in their resilience and courage. Once I started to put the material together, I could see that this was a subjective, personal journey to the world close to my heart. |