A Deep Well from Your Father was born 100 Years Ago, director Razan Alsalah

In Gaza today, thousands of individuals have participated in what has been named the Great March of Return. This popular resistance has resulted in the death of 30 civilians including the cinematographer, Yaser Murtaja. A unique programme of short films aims to reflect on the events of 1948 that marked a decisive turning point in the Middle East. The majority of Palestinians were expelled or fled as the state of Israel was established. History is generally written by the victors and this is also true of the history that is recounted by cinema. Yet, there were always film makers who were determined to document the destruction of over 500 Palestinians villages, the fate of the people in refugee camps and their resistance. A programme of 9 short films by a diverse group of Palestinian film makers will recall this forgotten history at Showroom in Sheffield, HOME in Manchester and Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham at the beginning of May. The first part of the programme reflects directly on the events of the Nakba (the 1948 Catastrophe) and the dream of return through animation, oral testimony and digital technology.  The second part explores contemporary experiences, through traditional documentary, docu-drama and the film essay.

The Screening will be introduced by Dr Anandi Ramamurthy, from Sheffield Hallam University, Co-Investigator for Creative Interruptions, an Arts and Humanities Research Council Project that aims to explore the way in which disenfranchised communities use the arts to have their voice heard. Post-screening discussions will take place with Dr Dani Abulhawa (Sheffield Hallam University) in Sheffield, Ruth Abu Rashed (University of Manchester) in Manchester, and Dr Marwan Darweish (University of Coventry) in Brimingham

 

Wed 2 May 18:15 HOME, Manchester, M15 4FN homemcr.org 0161 200 1500

Tues 8 May 18:00 Showroom, Sheffield, S1 2BX showroomworkstation.org.uk 0114 275 7727

Wed 9 May 19:00 Midlands Arts Centre, B12 9QH macbirmingham.co.uk  0121 446 3232

 

Part One:

History and exile

House  Ahmed Saleh 2011

For generations, a family lived in a spacious and beautiful house. Guests were always welcome to enjoy a pleasant stay.  Until one guest arrived with a different plan in mind. (4mins)

Alyasiini Sahera Dirbas 2012

Mahmad Alyasiini is a Palestinian survivor from Deir Yassin, west of Jerusalem. He recounts his life in the village before the Nakba and tells how he survived the massacre on April 1948. (22 mins)

Your father was born 100 years ago and so was the Nakba, Razan Alsalah 2017

Oum Amin, a Palestinian grandmother, returns to her hometown Haifa through Google Maps Streetview. 7mins

Part Two:

Contemporary dreams and realities

Oslo Syndrome (6 min) Ayman Azraq

Journey of a Sofa (9 min) Alaa Al Ali

Twenty Handshakes for Peace (3 min) Mahdi Fleifel

Message to Obama (7 min) Muhannad Salahat

Interference (11 min) Anim Nayfeh

These five films were produced by Palestinian directors 20 years after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 and are part of a larger collection of short films called Suspended Time. The films present what feels like a suspended reality of unfulfilled dreams to capture feelings of fragmentation, loss, hope and humour in contemporary Palestinian experience. (2014)

Today they Took my Son (8mins) Farah Nabulsi

The story of a mother coping with her young son being taken away by a military system and her helplessness to prevent the inhumane treatment she knows he is experiencing. (2016)

 

Programme length 77 mins

 

Pictured: Alyasini