Unveiling Palestine documentary film series

Every first Thursday of the month, 7pm. FREE refreshments, FREE admission, FREE door prizes.

Location: 243 Broadway, Cambridge, MA (at the corner of Windsor & Broadway; entrance on Windsor). Come early! at 6:45 we will begin with an introductory, documentary short and begin serving refreshments. 

Palestine Blues follows the repercussions of the Israeli Security Wall and Settlement expansion in the engulfed/annexed Palestinian farming communities of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  Instead of focusing on the Wall as an object, Palestine Blues examines the grassroots resistance movement that has sprung up against it.

Focusing on the village of Jayyous (close to Qalqilia) and its nonviolent campaign against the wall, the film documents the heroic victories and tragic defeats of this farming community’s fight for survival.

This Body Is a Prison is "A look at the psychological impact of the occupation in the West Bank, but there's a lot of layers to it. In the literal sense, its looking at how society is divided with tangible things like the wall, checkpoints and roadblocks, but its also looking at individual people and saying that the same things happening in society as a whole are happening inside individuals. The documentary really focuses on children. Adults fit in to the extent that they discuss children's experiences." ~ Dylan Bergeson

July 3rd, 2008 - Leila Khaled, Hijacker

Leila Khaled, Hijacker documents the life of the PFLP activist Leila Khaled, who achieved notoriety with two airplane hijackings in 1969 and 1970. The film, by Palestinian-Swedish writer Lina Makboul, addresses the distinction between terrorism and the struggle for freedom.

All That Remains is Nada El Yassir's powerful documentary that explores the struggle of Bedouins of the Naqab against Israeli policies that aim to strip them of their land and their way of life.

Palestinian Arab Bedouins once peopled the entire Naqab (Negev) Desert, a region which accounts for 60% of historic Palestine. With the creation of Israel in 1948, the majority of these Palestinians were uprooted. Those who remain are either being forcibly concentrated within one of seven designated townships; or - if they refuse to abandon their lifestyle and economy - end up living in one of 46 "unrecognized villages" lacking water, electricity, schools, roads or medical services. 

Human Rights Watch in a 2008, March 28th report on the situation says the Bedouin are victims of widespread government discrimination. The 130-page report, “Off the Map: Land and Housing Rights Violations in Israel’s Unrecognized Bedouin Villages,” documents how discriminatory Israeli laws and practices force tens of thousands of Bedouin in the south of Israel to live in “unrecognized” shanty towns where they are under constant threat of seeing their homes demolished and their communities torn apart. 

USA vs Al-Arian tells the story of Sami Al-Arian, a  university professor and pro-Palestinian civil rights activist who in February 2003,was arrested in Tampa, Florida and charged with providing material support to a terror organization. For 2 ½ years he was held in solitary confinement, denied basic privileges and given limited access to his attorneys. While the Bush administration considered this a landmark case in its campaign against international terrorism, Sami Al-Arian claims he was targeted in an attempt to silence his political views.

The film follows Sami Al-Arian’s wife Nahla and their five children throughout his 6 month-long trial. It is an intimate family portrait that documents the strain brought on by the trial, a battle waged both in court and in the media. In the film a tight-knit family unravels before our very eyes as trial preparations, strategy and spin consume their lives. This is a nightmare come to life, as a man is prosecuted for his beliefs rather than his actions. 

2,000 Terrorists centers on the search for justice of four survivors of the massacres of Sabra and Shatila who are among a group that has initiated legal action against Ariel Sharon and others responsible for the killings.

In 1982, following Israel's invasion of Lebanon and the evacuation of the PLO, Israeli defense minister Ariel Sharon declared that '2,000 terrorists' remained in Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. Monitored by the Israeli army, a Lebanese militia entered the camps to exterminate these remaining 'terrorists'. Two days later more than two thousand civilian inhabitants were killed: men, women and children, in what the United Nations officially declared to be genocide. 

Rachel, An American Conscience contains interviews and footage of Rachel Corrie in Palestine. She was a 23-year-old American student and human rights activist. On March 16th, 2003, an Israeli soldier, driving a US Caterpillar bulldozer 2-stoires high, crushed her to death According to numerous witnesses and photographic documentation, she was killed intentionally.

The US has yet to condemn this atrocity by an "ally" who receives more US funding than any other nation on earth, well over $10 million per day. Congress has yet to pass a resolution condemning this use of American tax money to kill an American citizen. Israel has called this atrocity "regrettable."

The US media have yet to accord this horror the attention it would normally merit. There were virtually NO follow up stories; NO STORIES about the memorial service held the next day in Gaza that was broken up by an Israeli tank, while the bulldozer that killed her drove slowly, exultantly past. NO STORES about Israeli forces blocking the ambulance carrying her remains from exiting Gaza. NO STORES about Rachel's grieving parents and siblings. NO STORES.

MALCOLM X- PRINCE OF ISLAM is the EXPLOSIVE and GRIPPING documentary that shows never before seen footage of al-Hajj Malik Shabazz, a truly Islamic hero.

... we have the example of Brother Malcolm. He courageously stood firm in the midst of his enemies and was ready to sacrifice everything in the pursuit of seeking the pleasure of Allah (swt). In ‘Prince of Islam’ we learn about his childhood struggles through to him joining the heretical group ‘Nation of Islam’ to him finally accepting the true religion of Islam after performing the Hajj in Makkah.

"If we don't stand for something, we may fall for anything." - Malcom X

In the summer of 2002, Michel Khleifi and Eyal Sivan, a Palestinian and an Israeli, travelled together from the south to the north of their country of birth, traced their trajectory on a map and called it Route 181. This virtual line follows the borders outlined in UN Resolution 181 that was to partition Palestine into two states. 

As they travel along this route, they encounter men and women, Israeli and Palestinian, young and old, civilians and soldiers, filming them in their everyday lives. Each of these characters has their own way of evoking the frontiers that separate them from their neighbours: concrete, barbed-wire, cynicism, humour, indifference, suspicion, aggression… 

Frontiers have been built on the hills and in the plains, on mountains and in valleys but above all inside the minds and souls of these two peoples and in the collective unconscious of both societies. 

With Route 181: Fragments of a Journey in Palestine-Israel, Michel Khleifi and Eyal Sivan take us on a disorientating journey across this tiny territory with vast ramifications.

2007:

Goal Dreams is a wonderful new documentary feature focusing on national and personal identity as experienced by a sports team like none before.

How can a team without a recognized homeland, no permanent domestic league, no place to train and with players and coaches scattered around the globe compete in the world of modern football? Founded in 1928, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) is considered one of the oldest football associations in the Arab World.

Since being recognized by FIFA in 1998, the team has risen 70 places in the international rankings, despite never having been able to play on home soil.

Following the team as they prepare for the 2006 World Cup, Goal Dreams chronicles the suspension of domestic league games after an Israel air strike on Palestine Stadium, while Austrian coach Alfred Riedle makes a heroic effort to mold players from diverse countries such as the USA, Chile, Palestine and Lebanon into a national team unlike any other.

In the summer of 2002, Michel Khleifi and Eyal Sivan, a Palestinian and an Israeli, travelled together from the south to the north of their country of birth, traced their trajectory on a map and called it Route 181. This virtual line follows the borders outlined in UN Resolution 181 that was to partition Palestine into two states. 

As they travel along this route, they encounter men and women, Israeli and Palestinian, young and old, civilians and soldiers, filming them in their everyday lives. Each of these characters has their own way of evoking the frontiers that separate them from their neighbours: concrete, barbed-wire, cynicism, humour, indifference, suspicion, aggression… 

Frontiers have been built on the hills and in the plains, on mountains and in valleys but above all inside the minds and souls of these two peoples and in the collective unconscious of both societies. 

With Route 181: Fragments of a Journey in Palestine-Israel, Michel Khleifi and Eyal Sivan take us on a disorientating journey across this tiny territory with vast ramifications.

Sucha Normal Thing - A Simple Journey into the Israeli-Occupied West Bank

"We are human beings and we feel," reflects a Palestinian hotel manager. Capturing the voice of individual Palestinians, internationals, and Israeli peace activists, Sucha Normal Thing documents untold stories of ordinary people amidst the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Filmed in the fall of 2003 by American filmmaker Rebecca Glotfelty, Sucha Normal Thing vividly explores visceral moments of life and death under occupation. From the busy cities of Jerusalem, Ramallah, Hebron, and Nablus, to the villages of Sa'aer and Zbuba, Sucha Normal Thing brings forth stories of Palestinians struggling to maintain a normal existence under Israeli occupation as well as Israelis, Palestinians, and internationals working non-violently toward peace.

Sucha Normal Thing captures the uncertainty of a "normal" day for the filmmaker and the Palestinian farmers, children, doctors, teachers and others living and working in the West Bank. Amidst stories of fear, anger, and hopelessness, exist moving stories of humans determined to persevere, to rise above the situation, to remain hopeful despite the uncertainty of daily life. A Palestinian father declares, "I want my children to be free, think free, not to be caged in the occupational culture." Hopeful for a life of freedom from the occupation.

American documentary filmmaker James Longley traveled to the Gaza Strip in January of 2001, planning to stay for two weeks and collect preliminary material for a film about the Palestinian intifada. He threw away his return ticket and stayed for another 3 months, shooting over 75 hours of material throughout the Gaza Strip.

Gaza Strip follows a range of people and events following the election of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, including the first major armed incursion into "Area A" by IDF forces during this intifada. The film is filmed almost entirely in a verite style, presented without narration and with little explanation, focusing on ordinary Palestinians rather than politicians and pundits. More observation than political argument, Gaza Strip offers a rare look inside the stark realities of Palestinian life and death under Israeli military occupation.

Reviews
"This documentary is vastly revealing ... and it's bigger than a summer blockbuster, more important than all our movie stars or the academy awards ..."
- StaticMultimedia.com

"... well-made and harrowing documentary ... you can understand my desperate desire not to believe what I was seeing."
- Jordan Hiller, www.bangitout.com

"... offering sequences that could rival Bunuel or Fellini ... one of the most important documentaries of recent times."
- Phil Hall, Film Threat

A thought-provoking and powerful documentary film on the current and historical root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unlike any other film ever produced on the conflict -- 'Occupation 101' presents a comprehensive analysis of the facts and hidden truths surrounding the never ending controversy and dispels many of its long-perceived myths and misconceptions.

The film also details life under Israeli military rule, the role of the United States in the conflict, and the major obstacles that stand in the way of a lasting and viable peace. The roots of the conflict are explained through first-hand on-the-ground experiences from leading Middle East scholars, peace activists, journalists, religious leaders and humanitarian workers whose voices have too often been suppressed in American media outlets.

The film covers a wide range of topics -- which include -- the first wave of Jewish immigration from Europe in the 1880's, the 1920 tensions, the 1948 war, the 1967 war, the first Intifada of 1987, the Oslo Peace Process, Settlement expansion, the role of the United States Government, the second Intifada of 2000, the separation barrier and the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as well as many heart wrenching testimonials from victims of this tragedy. 

Location: 243 Broadway, Cambridge, MA (at the corner of Windsor & Broadway; entrance on Windsor)

Come early! at 6:45 we will begin with an introductory, documentary short and begin serving pizza. Pick up your free copies of Remember These Children (brochure) and Occupied Living (DVD compilation of youtube videos).

 

Set during the current Intifada, this documentary follows four Palestinian families living in Dheisheh Refugee Camp near Bethlehem. They talk about their past and discuss the future with humor, sorrow, frustration and hope. "until when..." paints an intimate in-depth portrait of Palestinian lives today.

Fadi is 13 and cares for his 4 younger brothers, the Hammashes are a close-knit family who pass on the lessons of life with humor and passion, Sana is a single woman who endures long commutes to do community work, and Emad and Hanan are a young couple trying to shield their daughter from the harsh realities of the occupation. They talk about their past and discuss the future with humor, sorrow, frustration and hope.

"Remaining unashamedly Palestinian and independent in its point of view, this is a valuable and honest documentary offering great insights by way of interviews, archival photographs, and cinematography which presents a vivid sense of place and daily life." Vancouver International Film Festival

July location: 243 Broadway, Cambridge, MA (at the corner of Windsor & Broadway; entrance on Windsor)

Come early! at 6:45 we will begin with an introductory, documentary short and begin serving pizza. 

When filmmaker Mai Masri returned to her hometown of Nablus after a fourteen year absence, she discovered a new generation of Palestinian fighters: the children of the Intifada.

Winner of the Award of Public at the Freminin Pluriel Festival, Children of Fire captures their courageous story on film and paints a daring portrait of the Palestinian uprising. 

"Dramatic, bravely filmed...if you closed your eyes you could have been witnessing the Nazi occupation of the Warsaw Ghetto." - Daily Express

June location: 243 Broadway, Cambridge, MA (at the corner of Windsor & Broadway; entrance on Windsor)

Come early! at 6:45 we will begin with an introductory, documentary short and begin serving pizza. (We apologize for a slow start in May due to technical glitches; won't happen again.)  Pick up your free copy of Remember These Children.

 

May 3 - Checkpoint - The Palestinians After Oslo (58 min) Download flyer

The signing of the Oslo Peace Accord in 1993 sparked worldwide hope for a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Checkpoint takes a critical look at this peace agreement and its aftermath. 

Tom Wright and Therese Saliba lived in the West Bank from 1995 to 1996 and chronicled these events as they unfolded. Checkpoint portrays a side of the story little known to American audiences: the devastating effects of the agreement on Palestinian lives. With an engaging style and offbeat humor, the documentary exposes shallow mass-media interpretations of the conflict and reveals the immense imbalance of power between the two sides. 

Palestinian and Israeli human rights activists, as well as political figures like Hanan Ashrawi, give their views of the major events of the period: Rabin's assassination, the Palestinian Authority takeover of West Bank towns, the first Palestinian elections, the suicide bus bombings, Arafat's abuse of power, Netanyahu's election, and the September 1996 uprising.


Checkpoint takes its title from the innumerable Israeli roadblocks, which ironically have become a permanent feature in the new era of Palestinian "autonomy." In the post-Oslo era, the checkpoint becomes the symbol of Israeli control and domination. In the face of these obstacles, Israelis and Palestinians seek to grapple with these grave injustices and to set forth an alternative vision for a just peace. 

May location: 243 Broadway, Cambridge, MA (at the corner of Windsor & Broadway; entrance on Windsor)

Come early! at 6:45 we show The Easiest Targets: The Israeli Policy of Strip Searching Women and Children (13 min)
Read Alison Weir's column, Humiliation and Child Abuse at Israeli Checkpoints, Strip-Searching Children at Counterpunch. Alison Weir is executive director of If Americans Knew.

 

April 5th - Dead in the Water  (69 min)  Download flyer

During the Six-Day War, Israel attacked and nearly sank the USS Liberty belonging to its closest ally, the USA. Thirty-four American servicemen were killed in the two-hour assault by Israeli warplanes and torpedo boats. Israel claimed that the whole affair had been a tragic accident based on mistaken identification of the ship. The American government accepted the explanation.

For more than 30 years many people have disbelieved the official explanation but have been unable to rebut it convincingly. Now, Dead in the Water uses startling new evidence to reveal the truth behind the seemingly inexplicable attack.

April location: 243 Broadway, Cambridge, MA (at the corner of Windsor & Broadway; entrance on Windsor)

Come early! at 6:45 we show The Easiest Targets: The Israeli Policy of Strip Searching Women and Children (13 min)
Read Alison Weir's column, Humiliation and Child Abuse at Israeli Checkpoints, Strip-Searching Children at Counterpunch. Alison Weir is executive director of If Americans Knew.

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