• Film Reviews
• Brief Synopsis of Main Events

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Film Reviews
 

Scent of a Woman

(1993, Dir: Martin Brest 157 min. English)
Hoping to earn e tra money over the Thanksgiving weekend Charlie Simms (Chris O'Donnell) a scholarship student at an e clusive prep school agrees to look after blind retired Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade (Pacino) . The innocent and re-served Simms is immediately thrown off guard by Slades's bullying personality. But Charlie is in for even more surprises when Slades takes off for a wild weekend in New York City that will change the lives of both men forever.
El Bireh Saturday 10 Tuesday 13 Tuesday 27 June 19:30 Popular Art Center.
 

Apollo 13

(USA 1995 Dir.:Ron Howard Color 134 min. En glish.)
Apollo 13 was just another "routine" space flight-until these words pierced the immense voice of space: "Houston we have a problem." Stranded 205 000 miles from earth in a crippled spacecraft astronauts Jim Lovell (Hanks) Fred Haise (Pa ton) and Jack Swigert (Bacon) fight a desperate battle to survive. Meanwhile at Mission control astronaut Ken Mattingly (Sinise) flight director Gene Kranz (Harris) and a heroic ground crew race against time- and the odds- to bring them home. A breathtaking adventure that tells a story of courage faith and ingenuity that is all the more remarkable because it is true!
El Bireh Saturday 03 Sunday 18 June 19:30 Popular Art Center.
 

Michael Collins

(1996 Dir.: Niel Jordan 133 min. English)
Michael Collins the man and the movie stands tall. The man is a hero whose fighting tactics became a model for other 20th century struggles a statesman who negotiated Ireland's break with England a political martyr slain for the great life he lived and breathed. Liam Neeson (winner of a Venice Film Festival Best Actor Award) plays the title role . Aidan Quinn Stephen Rea Alan Rickman and Julia Roberts also deliver vivid performances.
El Bireh Sunday 04 Tuesday 20 June 19:30 Popular Art Center.
 

Heaven before I Die

(Canada 1999 Written and directed by Izidore K. Musallam 98 min. English )
A charming and engaging tale of life and love un-folds in Toronto where the handsome but sheltered Jacob (Andy Velasques) arrives from the Middle East. Culture shock sets in when Jacob is taken under the wing of petty thief (Giancarlo Giannini) and the beautiful Selma (Joanna Pacula) . When the young man's innocence meets the realities of modern life chaos ensues love fills the air and a special magic begins. Co-starring Omar Sharif with special appearances by Joe Bologna and Burt Young.
El Bireh Tuesday 06 Sunday 25 June 19:30 Popular Art Center.
 

All About my Mother

(Spain 1999 Dir.: Pedro Almodavar 97 min. Spanish with English Subtitles.)
A Birthday treat turns into heart-rending tragedy for single mother Manuela (Cecilia Roth) when her teenage son is killed in a car accident. Determined to e orcise her overwhelming guilt Manuela goes to Barcelona to finally tell his father about the son he never knew he had. The father is a transvestite named Lola who is dying from an AIDS related ill-ness. However in confronting her own past Manuela forges a new future with Lola's transsexual best friend Agrado (Antonio San Juan) church social worker sister Rosa (Penelope Cruz) and Huma when her play comes to town. But even as the women from different fringes of society from a bond further heartbreak misfortune and ultimate joy lies store for each.
El Bireh Thursday 01 Sunday 11 Thursday 29 June 19:30 Popular Art Center.
 

You've Got Mail

(1998 Dir.: Nora Ephron 114 min. English.)
Three little words. Three rapturous words that Joe Fo (Tom Hanks) and Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) long to hear: You've got mail. Superstore book chain magnate Hanks and cozy children's bookshop owner Ryan are anonymous e-mail cyberpals who fall head-over-laptops in love unaware that they are combative business rivals.
El Bireh Thursday 08 Saturday 17 June 19:30 Popular Art Center.
 

The Matrix

(USA 1999 Dir.: Wachowsky Brothers 103 min. English)
Perception: The everyday world is real. Reality: the world is a hoax an elaborate deception spun by all-powerful machines of artificial intelligence that control us. Mind-blowing stunts. Techno-slamming visuals Mega-kick action Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne lead the fight to free human-kind in the Matrix the cyber-thriller that you will watch again and again.
El Bireh Thursday 15 Saturday 24 June 19:30 Popular Art Center.

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Brief Synopsis of Main Events
 

Concert: The Jerusalem Choir

The Choir started in 1955. All along it has been composed of local and international members. After the Israeli occupation in 1967 the Choir started practicing in the Jerusalem YWCA which became its official patron. Between 1988 and 1993 the choir was unable to meet because of the restrictions on movement imposed by the Israeli authorities. It resumed its regular activity in 1994. It normally gives two concerts a year one around Christmas and the other in the spring. This spring's program includes excerpts from Haydn's oratorio The Creation Verdi's opera Nabucco songs by Schubert and some Palestinian national songs. The choir is conducted by Salwa Tabri and the piano accompanist this term is Lara Harb. Ramallah Saturday 03 June 20:30 Lutheran Church.
Jerusalem Sunday 04 June 20:30 YMCA East Jerusalem.
 

Concert: Amer Nakhleh

Amer Nakhleh is a guitarist and teacher of guitar at the National Conservatory of Music. He also runs a music school in Shafa Amer which he established in 1996. He graduated in 1994 from the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem. Amer has participated in festivals around the world including France and Hungary. The concert will include pieces by great Spanish composers such as Francisco Tarrega Isaac Albeniz Manuel de Falla and others. Amer will be joined by Heather MacDonald- flute Bisan Toron- vocal and Yousef Hubeish - Percussion . Ramallah Sunday 11 June 20:30 Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center.
Jerusalem Thursday 08 June 20:30 YMCA East Jerusalem.
 

Concert: Karloma - Free Music

A new approach to Oriental Music The name Karloma refers to the calligrapher's draft on which he practices and experiments before embarking on his "neat copy". Sometimes this draft can be more beautiful and creative than the final piece of work… Karloma is an ensemble of five professional musicians from different musical backgrounds. They are gathered to perform oriental music in their own new way. The ensemble members are: Ahmad Khatib – oud Heather MacDonald - flute Rudi Felder – double bass Youssef Hbeish - percussion and Bisan Toron - vocals and percussion. Ramallah Wednesday 14 June 20:00 Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center.
 

Concert: Ramallah string quartet

Formed in late 1999 the Ramallah String Quartet draws its members from the National Conservatory of Music. The Players are Daniel Weatherly and Anita Master violins Peter Sulsky viola and Shirly Smart viloncello. Members of the group are all graduates of major London institutions such as Guildhall School and the Royal College. Their hope is to bring the incredibly vibrant world of string quartet and western chamber music's most inspired combinations to Palestine. In Ramallah their e clusive performance venue is the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center. Ramallah Tuesday 06 June 19:30 Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center.
 

Concert: Accoules Sa

Accoules Sa is a modern funky group of 8 musicians (6 sa ophonists and 2 drummers) who during one hour walk up and down attract people to them for a great musical show. This year they are in Palestine at the invitation of the French Cultural centers to celebrate the "fete de la musique" and will perform in Gaza Hebron Jerusalem Bethlehem and Nablus.
For tour dates contact the French Cultural center in Jerusalem 02 6282451.
 

Religious Event: Pentecost 2000

Pentecost is celebrated in many countries as the day of the founding of the Church in Jerusalem nearly 2000 years ago. As the small group of the followers of Jesus were gathered together they received the Holy Spirit and overcame barriers of language and nationality. The celebration in Bethlehemthis year was planned with the symbols of the Holy Spirit the dove the wind and fire with the hope that it too will transcend the barriers of language and nationality today. The celebration will commence with the ecumenical international and multi lingual service entitled "One in Spirit diverse in culture" at 19:30 on Sunday 11 June at the Bethlehem Peace Center. The service is hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and Palestine according to Bishop Munib Younan. The service will be held in Arabic English and German and participants are asked to wear something red the symbolic color for Pentecost. Bethlehem Sunday 11 June 19:30 Bethlehem Peace Center.
 

Play: Bab esh Shams (door of the sun)

Adapated by: Najib Ghallale and George Ibrahim Director: Najib Ghallale Actor: Makram Khoury 1 ½ hours Al Kasaba Theatre 2000
A Monodrama based on the book by the Lebanese novelist Elias Khoury for which he received the Palestine prize for literature in 1999 this play revolves around one character a doctor in the Shatilla camp hospital talking to a friend who is in a coma at the hospital trying to "talk him" out of it. In the process he presents many stories of the Palestinian catastrophe of 1948. Each story comes to form the present past and future simultaneously. Like the novel the play highlights the schizophrenic nature of the conflict struggle and lives of refugees and freedom fighters who have no present but a grim past and an ambiguous future.
Ramallah Thursday 08 and Friday 09 June 19:30 Al Kasaba theatre and cinematheque.
 

Play: The Immigrant

Playwright: George Shehadeh (Lebanon) Script and adaptation (from French): George Ibrahim (Palestine) Director: Mohammad Khamees (Morocco)
The play talks about a Palestinian village Deir Az Zaytoun and a Palestinian Immigrant who returns to his village after a long absence. He meets a taxi driver who takes him to the village at night and tells him it's his old village to see the settlements and the changes that have taken place on the landscape. The Immigrant falls to the ground to be found dead in the morning by the villagers. He has a suitcase with a million dollars and a message saying that this is a legacy for his son. The village is wrought with questions and doubts and issues relating to family honor until one of the women is killed. At the end everyone finds out that the taxi driver intentionally drives his passengers to another village (not their original village). Ramallah Sunday 11 June 19:30 Al Kasaba Theatre and Cinematheque.
 

Play: One for the Road

A close translation of Harold Pinter's Play Director: Sameh Hijazi
The Palestinian National Theatre productions -2000 Harold Pinter was born in London in 1930. A declared non-academic he refrained from military service at the age of 18 and wrote several important plays such as "The Homecoming" and "No Man's Land". "One for the Road" is an honest witness to his concern with the human condition as it is. It tackles a number of issues at a time and puts the spectator at a wonder as to how a human being is supposed to react upon detecting the present state of the world. Sameh Hijazi a Palestinian theatre director and scriptwriter has been active in the Palestinian theatre scene for many years now translating and directing many successful plays. In the Palestinian version of "one on the road" as Hijazi portrays is the attitude is neither inciting nor implying a clear cut position. They "just warn you that if you choose to see it you will experience a bold attempt to touch on several taboos in Arab society."
Jerusalem Friday 16 and Saturday 17 June 17:30 Palestinian National Theatre.
 

Catholic Gathering: Hosanna 2000

A Catholic International celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ through music praise and adoration. This is a historic event according to its organizers Catholic singer Martha Reyes and her organization in California that will include the participation of Catholics from all over the world as well as bishops priests and religious personalities from many communities. Hosanna 2000 will be the 7th Hosanna multi festival.
Bethlehem 07 June 19:00 Manger Square.
 

Artist: Ghada Amer

An Egyptian born artist currently living in New Work Amer studied Fine Art in Nice and Pans. She was awarded the Unesco Prize at the 1998 Venice Biennale. Ghada Amer is described as "a new kind of international artist mastering and manipulating the vocabulary of European and American modern art but asserting the sensibility of her Egyptian heritage." She has created an approach to art that is neither Western Middle Eastern nor African but a unique fusion that is helping to open up new directions."
Jerusalem 16 June Gallery Anadiel. Until 30 July.
 

Concert: George Dalaras

Born in Piraeus Athens' main port George Dalaras is steeped in the tradition of the folk and blues music of the masses. His first public appearance was at the age of 16 as a guitarist and singer. Two years later in 1969 he recorded his first best selling al-bum. Since then. George Dalaras has sold more than 7 million albums of his own works and his collaborations. Dalaras is best loved for his bal-lads - a combination of contemporary guitar and the traditional instruments of Greece. The genius of Dallaras' artistry comes from his embrace of his own cultural roots and his uncanny ability to present it in a modern context without straying from its essence. George Dalaras has released 50 personal albums and participated in more than 40 record-ings.
Bethlehem 23 June 19:30 Manger Square.