Dhafer L’Abidine and Yasmine Al Massri in a still from ‘Palestine 36’ courtesy of Philistine Films
Why, you ask? Because if we are ever to understand the Palestinian/Israeli issues of the present, we need to go back nearly a century and wrap our heads around the crimes, struggles and mistakes of the past.
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The upcoming screening will take place on December 3rd, and it will be followed by a Q&A with the director, moderated by director Sophie Fiennes.
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Saleh Bakri in a still from Farah Nabulsi's 'The Teacher'
At the core of the Oscar-nominated filmmaker’s first feature is a clear understanding of the power of the perpetually perpetrated injustice on the Palestinian people.
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In his latest film, a crucial masterpiece titled ‘Why War’, Amos Gitai reminds us of an exchange of letters between Sigmund Freud, the father of modern psychoanalysis, and Albert Einstein, the scientific genius. If only we’d listen to these brilliant men.
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For a man whose personal mission has been to “build bridges through cinema,” as he told La Repubblica newspaper in an interview just published this week, his latest film may prove the most important peace-making link yet.
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If you’d asked me a year ago did I believe cinema could change the world, I would have answered you with an enthusiastic “yes!” Now? Read on to find out…
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Amos Gitai, center, on the set of ‘Shikun’
The latest film by the prolific filmmaker, theater director, architect and artist has just been announced as a Berlinale Special at the upcoming Berlin Film Festival.
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Let’s get this out of the way: everything about Nadav Lapid's latest film is spellbinding.
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Ali Suliman plays Mustafa, a father separated from his family by a wall, in Ameen Nayfeh’s ‘200 Meters’
A father, his family, a wall. It’s a theme, an image we think of often these days, particularly when speaking of certain American policies and our current US President. But where is another part of the world where such a policy has been tried and tested, and of course, failed miserably on a human scale? Palestine, or Israel if you wish to call it with its post-1948 name. A land belonging to many and claimed by some.
In Ameen Nayfeh’s quiet masterpiece ‘200 Meters’, which premiered as part of the Giornate degli Autori lineup in Venice this year, Palestinian superstar Ali Suliman plays Mustafa, a loving husband and doting father.
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One of my favorite films in Berlin this year is not in Competition. Actually it’s not even in any of the sidebars. You’ll find Najwa Najjar’s stunning, heartwarming latest feature at the Berlinale’s European Film Market, with a screening on the 22nd of February, at 9.30 in the Simon Bolivar Saal.
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Photo courtesy of Hurdle Film, LLC
The Palestinian condition can be summed up in one word: Naqba — the Arabic word for “disaster”. While the Israelis celebrate their Independence Day each May, the Palestinian population mourns the loss of their land, liberty and peace on exactly the same date. It’s one of the most tragic contradictions of our times.
But the Palestinian people are nothing if not resilient. Through their ordeal they’ve made beautiful cinema, see Elia Suleiman, created mind blowing art like Nabil Anani and succeeded in sports. I could think of several examples of each. I mean, Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf became the second ever Arab Idol in 2014 despite the fact that he wasn’t even allowed into Egypt, where the competition was filmed. While walls are built to keep them in, Palestinian figure out more and better ways to overcome those obstacles and become better, stronger and more successful.
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“And despite the clamors and the violence, we tried to preserve in our hearts the memory of a happy sea, of a remembered hill, the smile of a beloved face.” — Albert Camus from ‘Resistance, Rebellion and Death: Essays’
As I watched Amos Gitai’s latest ‘A Tramway in Jerusalem’ with the usual anticipation I dedicate to all the works of the visionary Israeli filmmaker, I looked for the funny. After all, Gitai himself, in his director’s notes called Tramway “an optimistic and ironic metaphor of the divided city of Jerusalem”. In the synopsis of the film, the word “comedy” is used yet when I watched ‘A Tramway in Jerusalem’, more than once, I cried. Long, perfectly needed tears. The film world premiered out of competition at this year’s Venice International Film Festival.
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PHOTO BY GIORA BEJACH
Lior Ashkenazi and Sarah Adler in still from Samuel Maoz’s ‘Foxtrot’
In a great film, there is always a moment when things change — that instance when the viewer is caught off guard, and left with an indelible feeling to take home. I consider it the cinematic equivalent of that famous Maya Angelou quote “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Personally speaking, a truly successful movie is one where that moment remains with me, hours later, casting a spell over my heart and soul.
Samuel Maoz’s ‘Foxtrot’ is that film. More than twelve hours after watching it at the Venice Film Festival where it is featured in the main Competition section, I’m still only barely able to process it emotionally. Even though the filmmaker created an artful, visually stunning, sonically powerful, perfectly acted, intellectually stimulating and utterly entertaining film — I can just remember how it made me feel. I doubt I will ever forget actually.
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