Reel Palestine in collaboration with Cinema Akil and the Palestine Film Unit will be screening restored short documentaries by revolutionary film makers Mustafa Abu Ali and Khadijeh Habashneh in commemoration of the 71st Nakbah Day.
Tickets are available for sale at www.cinemaakil.com
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"This year, 2019, marks the 50th anniversary of the first Palestinian film produced by the Palestine Film Unit (PFU), which was founded by three of the earliest cinema institute graduate filmmakers, and is considered the first specialized film unit to accompany a national liberation movement from its inception. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the passing of Mustafa Abu Ali, on July 30th, 2009, one of the founders of this unit, and who developed it into one of the landmarks of revolutionary cinema in the world.
The film unit, considered the first Palestinian film initiative, was able to develop into a cinema institution (The Palestinian Cinema Institute) that evolved to include several film teams. By the end of 1982, the institute had produced more than thirty films and news reels, that played a part in mobilizing the rank and file of the Palestinian and Arab people around the revolution. It also played its part in introducing the world to various aspects of the Palestinian issue and the tragedy that befell the Palestinian people in 1948." Khadijeh Habashneh, Writer, Filmmaker, Coordinator of the Old Palestinian Films Preservation project., Director, responsible of the archive and cinematheque / Palestinian Cinema Institute, 1974-1982 15 May 2019, 9:00 PM - 10:45 PM Location: Cinema Akil, Alserkal Avenue Scenes from Under Occupation in Gaza Dir: Mustafa Abu Ali Short Documentary| Arabic|1973 | 11'| Palestine *with English subtitles The film “Scenes from Occupation in Gaza” is a documentary that presents some of the Israeli occupation measurements against Palestinians, and a profile of the struggle of Palestinian people in Gaza. The film won the Golden prize in the short film competition of the International Baghdad Festival for Films and TV Programs on Palestine 1973. It also won the prize of the International Youth Union at the Leipzig International Film Festival in 1973. They Don't Exist Dir: Mustafa Abu Ali Short Documentary| Arabic|1974 | 24'| Palestine *with English subtitles Do Palestinians exist or not? This film is an attempt to prove they do exist. This came as a response to the statements made by both Moshe Dayyan and Golda Maier (both top Israeli leaders), who denied the existence of Palestinians as well as Palestine. In 1974, three quarters of the Nabatiyah Palestinian Refugee Camp (70 Km. south of Beirut, Lebanon) had been demolished by Israeli air raids. Produced by the Palestinian Cinema Institute, the film consists of 9 chapters, trying, in a calm manner, to demonstrate that the Palestinian Refugees bombarded in Nabatiyah were not ghosts, but real people. The film won the Diploma of Honor from the Leipzig Film Festival, Germany, in 1974. The film also won the prize of the Arab Critics Union at the Cartage Film Festival, Tunis, in 1978. Palestine in the Eye Dir: Mustafa Abu Ali Short Documentary| Arabic|1977 | 25'| Palestine *with English subtitles The late Hani Jawharieh was one of the three founders of the first Palestinian Film Unit, called "Palestine Film" in 1968. This film had been made as a tribute to Hani by his very close colleague, the film director, Mustafa Abu Ali. It shows much of his work as a cameraman, including the last five shots he filmed before his death. Children Nevertheless Khadijeh Habashneh Abu Ali Short Documentary| Arabic|1979/80 | 22' | Palestine Produced by the Palestinian Cinema Institute and the General Union of Palestinian Women, the film revolves around the life of the orphans of Tall Azaatar Martyrs, in “Bait El- Somoud”, the house which was established for them by the GUPW. Through the lives of these children, the film shows the sufferings that Palestinian children endure, in diaspora camps and under the Israeli occupation. The film focuses on the contradiction between the “International Declaration of Child Rights” and the reality of the living conditions of Palestinian children About Reel Palestine Reel Palestine is an annual film festival showing a selection of independent and alternative Palestinian films in the United Arab Emirates.. The not-for-profit and volunteer-based organization was set up by group of friends in Dubai in 2014 and launched its first pop-up festival in January 2015 with the purpose of showing Palestinian culture and tenacity through film, submerging viewers in the beautiful, difficult, emotional, and inspirational moments that occur under occupation. |
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