In its sixth session, the El Gouna Film Festival devoted a special program to Palestinian cinema called “A Window on Palestine.”
The festival, scheduled to be held from December 14 to 21, sheds light on the human experiences in Palestine through 10 films, in cooperation with the Palestine Film Institute, as a commitment from the festival to support the Palestinian cause, according to a statement by the festival administration.
Intishal Al-Tamimi, Director of the El Gouna Film Festival, stressed the importance of the “Window on Palestine” section, and said that the festival aims, through these films, to open a window on the complex and rich fabric of Palestinian life. He added that the festival’s management hopes that these stories will resonate with the audience, which will enhance sympathy and understanding. By providing a platform for these voices.
Marianne Khoury, the artistic director of the festival, also stated, “The inclusion of the program within the activities of the sixth session is a strong evidence of the festival’s commitment to showing Palestinian voices through the lens of cinema, as the program offers its audience a unique opportunity to discover or rediscover the Palestinian narratives that were presented on the screen and to engage in Meaningful discussions with the filmmakers who will be able to come to El Gouna.”
Comedy, romance and animation
The films shown in “Window on Palestine” include 10 films, including the film “The Professor” by director Farah Nabulsi, which recently won the Jury Prize and the Best Actor Award for Bakri from the Al-Bahr Film Festival.
The film deals with the daily state of anger and frustration experienced by the Palestinian people, through the hero, who works as a teacher. He has a strong relationship with his students, and tries to urge his students not to take revenge, but he finds himself in trouble and his life changes after his friends capture an Israeli soldier in his home, and from here the events begin. At a different turn.
Regarding life in light of the violent events and chaos and what the people of Gaza are exposed to, comes the experience of director Muhammad al-Jabali’s film “Ambulance,” which is also shown in the program. The film documents the war on Gaza in 2014 through a number of stories that are very similar to the current events taking place in the Strip. Gaza since last October.
It also features the film “Not Just Your Image” directed by Anne Buck and Dror Dayan, which deals with the story of Palestinians seeking justice for their families after an Israeli air strike on Gaza.
Regarding the contradictory reality in Gaza, and life amidst constant threats from the Israeli occupier, comes the film “Without a Roof” directed by Sina Salimi, and the film “Al-Shujaiya” by director Muhammad Abdel-Mughni, which monitors the suffering of a Palestinian family living in the Gaza Strip after their house was destroyed in the occupier’s bombings. Israeli.
In 2021, director Lina Sweilem presented the experience of 4 women from different generations in the film “Goodbye Tiberias”, and each of the film’s heroines has a different impact on the life around her. The heroine, embodied by actress Hiam Abbas, left Palestine when she was in her early twenties, in Desiring to pursue art professionally in Europe, she returns to her village in Palestine again with her daughter, and from here Lina Sweilem begins presenting archival footage through which she documents life in Palestine between the present and the past through human stories.
Regarding Palestinian history, the film “To My Father” by director Abdel Salam Shehadeh presents, in 50 minutes, the story of the Palestinian image and how it came to be, and the relationship between the camera and documenting the lives of the ancestors and the lives of the Palestinian people across different generations.
Regarding the Palestinian struggle in a romantic form, the movie “Bab al-Shams” comes in its two parts, by Egyptian director Yousry Nasrallah, which presents a Palestinian epic extending over 50 years of the history of the Palestinian Nakba through a couple who meet with great difficulty.
Regarding the idea of the challenges that couples also face in order to settle down and lead a normal life, the film by directors Arab and Nasser Tarzan “The Bulletproof Condom” comes, but in a comedic form, where the film’s hero and his wife live in the midst of the devastating Israeli bombing of Gaza.
The animated film “Drawing for Better Dreams” by director Mai Odeh is also screened within the program. The film sheds light on the struggle of Palestinian children in the occupied territories, and how they deal with life through their crayon drawings, and stresses the importance of allowing young people to dream and hope.
Palestinian voices
During a video clip on the official page of the El Gouna Festival on the Facebook platform, Palestinian director Mai Al-Masry said, “Cinema is an expression of reality and steadfastness, but in a creative way. It conveys the voice of the struggling Palestinian person and his cause.”
“A Lens on Palestine”
The sixth session of the festival will also witness a panel discussion entitled “The Camera in Crisis: A Lens on Palestine,” which will include a number of Palestinian filmmakers, including Masharawi, Najwa Najjar, Khalil Al-Mezyan, and actor Ahmed Al-Munirawi. During the discussion session, each of them will talk about their direct experience with the spotlight. On the challenges they face during the filming process to bring their stories to the screen.