Arab positions on occupation and war
The villagers of Maaloul in the Galilee are permitted to visit the ruins of their houses only on Israeli Independence Day. Former residents of Quneitra have limited access to their hometown on the Golan Heights, which the Israeli army destroyed before returning the place to Syria. Its government made it a memorial site. In Haifa, windows and doors of Palestinian houses were cemented in 1948 to remain sealed until this day amidst skyscrapers with glass facades. How do the permanent wars since the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948 inscribe themselves into Arab biographies and social lives? How have people been living, reflecting and resisting? How has solidarity been expressed?
On the backdrop of the current Israeli war on Gaza – which according to international bodies meets the legal definition of genocide – its rulings in the Palestinian West Bank, its re-occupation and destruction of southern Lebanon and its re-invasion into Syria, this program looks at Arab experiences in the Arab-Israeli conflict, showing films that were made over the past 50 years. Given that the West Bank and Gaza have been relatively visible in cinema recently, this program focuses on works from Lebanon, Syria and Palestine inside Israel. Three slots are comprised of a medium length film that centers on a biography and a short film in which a landscape is in the focus. A fourth slot is dedicated to questions around international solidarity filmmaking with the PLO.
Curated by Irit Neidhardt.
SCREENING 1
8 July at 4 p.m., at Artplexe Canebière
WAHUNAK ‘ASHYA’ KATHIRAT KAN YUMKIN ‘AN YATAHADATH EANHA ALMAR’
THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS STILL TO SAY
Omar Amiralay
Syria, France, 1997, 49’
On his deathbed Syrian playwright Saadallah Wannous reflects on how his and his generation’s life were determined by the Arab-Israeli conflict.
MAALOUL TAHTAFIL BIDAMARIHA
MAALOUL CELEBRATES ITS DESTRUCTION
Michel Khleifi
Palestine, Belgium, 1984, 32’
Each year on Israeli Independence Day, the displaced Palestinian villagers are allowed to visit the ruins of their homes in Maaloul. There they picnic.
SCREENING 2
9 July at 5 p.m., at Artplexe Canebière
SUHA, ALNAJAH MIN ALJAHIM
SUHA, SURVIVING HELL
Randa Chahal
Lebanon, France, 2001, 57’
After the liberation of south Lebanon, Suha Beshara returns to her hometown and to Khiam prison where she was confined for ten years for her armed resistance.
QUNEITRA 74
Mohamad Malas
Syria, 1974, 20’
A gathering of the inhabitants of Quneitra after the Israeli army withdrew and returned the town inhabitable. A woman starts running between the ruins.
SCREENING 3
10 July at 6:30 p.m., at Artplexe Canebière
INDAMA YAATI ALMASA’
NIGHTFALL
Mohamed Soueid
Lebanon, 2000, 68’
Years after the war, Soueid meets with former comrades of the PLO’s Lebanese Student Squad. Together they drink to remember, to forget, to bear solitude.
SAYAATI YOUWM AKHAR
ANOTHER DAY SHALL COME
Aida Ka’adan
Palestine, Qatar, Lebanon, France, 2026, 20’
Voices of anonymous Palestinians living in Israel during its genocidal war on Gaza. Images of their wounded landscapes swallowed by Israeli cities.
SCREENING 4
11 July at 7 p.m., at Les Variétés
PALESTINE RED CRESCENT SOCIETY
Monica Maurer, Samir Nimer
Federal Republic of Germany, PLO, 1979, 43’
A portrait of the health organization, its medical provision and psychosocial work. Followed by a conversation about solidarity filmmaking for Palestine.