The 10th edition of the festival “Palestine Cinema Days”, initially planned from the 24th of October to the 2nd of November in 5 Palestinian cities in Gaza and the West Bank was canceled because of the blind violence being inflicted on Palestinian civilians in Gaza, specifically, and in the whole of occupied Palestine. In order to hold space for the lived experiences, the stories and histories, the lives and broken dreams of Palestinians, over 90 free screenings of Palestinian films are being organized in cities and venues spread across the world on November 2nd, under the banner of “Palestine Cinema Days”.

A necessary platform in the face of counterfeit narratives

In the context of Israel’s retaliatory war against Gaza, major international media, social networks, and world leaders are distorting or obscuring the narrative and historical context of Palestine. The few journalists who are reporting from the ground are being targeted and killed by the Israeli army. Palestinian civilians are dehumanized and framed as the source of their own suffering, and the value of their lives – and the cost of their deaths – is consistently portrayed as inferior to that of Israeli civilians. It has, therefore, become necessary for Film Lab Palestine to contribute to the visibility of Palestinians through cinema.

Coinciding with the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the chosen date of November 2nd provides a platform for censored Palestinian voices and a means to combat the long-standing falsification of history and ongoing propaganda.

A selection of 8 films about and from Palestine

Film Lab Palestine has proposed to its partners (cultural associations, community spaces, cinemas, and activists) 8 documentary and fiction films that address various aspects of Palestine and life under occupation, including:

• The issue of Palestinian prisoners under the Israeli Occupation through “Ghost Hunting” by Raed Andoni, himself a victim and survivor of Israeli prisons.

• The journeys, testimonies, and personal stories of 12 Palestinian women in “Stitching Palestine” by Carole Mansour.

• The true story of young people practicing surfing in “Gaza Surf Club” by Mickey Yamine and Philip Gnadt.

• The true story of two friends practicing an acrobatic sport in Gaza in “One More Jump” by Emanuele Gerosa.

• The reenactment of a massacre committed by Israeli forces against a Palestinian family in 1948 during the Nakba, in “Farha” by Darine Sallam.
• The destruction of the city of Nazareth by the Israeli army in 1948, as portrayed in the fiction film “The Time That Remains” by Elia Suleiman.
• The experiences of a Gaza family in a refugee camp subjected to Israeli curfews in the fiction film “Curfew” by Rashid Masharawi.
• A love story between two young pre-adolescents in Gaza set against the backdrop of a blockade in “The Tale of the Three Jewels” by Michel Khleifi.

The response from South America to Europe, to the Arab region has been overwhelming. As more screenings are added day by day, we expect to reach about 100 screenings. This is a clear and stunning display of solidarity from people across the globe.

The screenings will give us an opportunity to gather, to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, to educate ourselves and our loved ones on the Palestinian plight, to mourn those we have lost, and to demand an end to the ongoing ethnic cleansing.

Screenings around the world can be found on this map. 

About Filmlab Palestine

Founded in 2014, Filmlab Palestine was inspired by the personal experience of its founders in empowering Palestinian youth in refugee camps in Jordan through film literacy and talent program, strengthening their own personal narratives.  Build on this expertise, Filmlab: Palestine aims at expanding and cultivating the existing cinema culture within Palestine, while providing the much-needed technical and artistic support for emerging Palestinian filmmaking voices.

Following the slogan “It’s time to tell our stories”, Filmlab is eager to promote one of the most effective audiovisual tools for self-expression, storytelling, the preservation of collective memory, while putting Palestine on the map of the global cinema industry.