RAMALLAH, November 29 (JMCC) - Through a new initiative, Palestinians in Haifa and Jaffa in Israel will be able to view non-commercial Arab films and interact with their directors,
reports al-Akhbar.
Palestinema, a group of 15 Palestinian filmmakers, is screening non-commercial films from the Arab world to audiences that have few similar cultural outlets.
Films are shown once every two weeks in different theaters, including Masrah al-Maidan in Haifa and Masrah al-Saraya in Jaffa. Palestinema always tries to host the director of the movie being shown, either in person or via Skype.
Movies that have been shown include Moulok Wa Kombars (Kings and Extras) from Palestinian director and refugee from Haifa, Azza al-Hassan, and Khlikna Wa Alikna (Private Investigation) from Ula Tabari in Nazareth.
Hiya Fawda (This Is Chaos) from directors Youssef Chahine and Khaled Youssef has also been screened.
Youssef and al-Hassan both appeared over Skype while Tabari joined the audience in person.
This symbolic initiative was launched to bring down the cultural barrier between Palestine and the rest of the Arab World, director Fares Khoury, one of the founders of Palestinema told al-Akhbar.
He sees the screening of films in Haifa and Jaffa as an assertion of cultural Arab identity and Palestinian presence in these cities.
Director Riyad Shammas, one of the founders of Palestinema, points out that an Algerian director cannot travel to Haifa but could be present among a Palestinian audience through the internet, or through his or her art.