PRESS RELEASE
THE PALESTINIAN FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS IN 2022 WITH A PROGRAM SHOWCASING THE BEST OF PALESTINIAN CINEMA
Returning for the first in-person event since 2019, the Palestinian Film Festival is back with a program celebrating the very best of Palestinian cinema, with a mix of film festival favourites, award-winning features, and ground-breaking documentaries.
Traversing themes of people, place and identity, this year’s Festival presents the very best in Palestinian cinema to audiences in Sydney (2-10 Nov), Melbourne (3-6 Nov), Brisbane (11-13 Nov), Canberra (11-13 Nov), Perth (11-13 Nov), Adelaide (18-20 Nov) and Hobart (18-20 Nov).
We’re very proud to present the best of Palestinian cinema for our exciting eleventh Festival! This year’s program focuses on the power of personal storytelling in building individual and collective resilience,” said Festival Director Naser Shakhtour. “With award-winning films set in Palestine 1948 to present day Palestine, we have curated an engaging and unforgettable program guaranteed to inform and inspire.”
Opening the festival this year is the debut feature from Jordanian filmmaker Darin J. Sallam titled Fahra. Having premiered in the Next Wave strand at TIFF 2021, Sallam’s dauntless and compelling feature debut tells the story of Fahra, a promising young woman with dreams of attending school unlike other girls her age. Following the end of British control over Palestine in 1948, Fahra and her father are unaware of the force displacements starting in their region, and when Israeli bombs reach her village, Fahra’s life is changed forever. A devastating story about loss, dispossession and survival, Fahra is a poignant and remarkable first feature from a filmmaker on the rise.
This year’s program features favourites from some of the world’s most prestigious festivals. Headlined by the winner of the Cannes Un Certain Regard Best Screenplay Award, Mediterranean Fever, a darkly comic drama about an unlikely friendship formed between a depressed man and a small-time crook with an ulterior motive. Oher highlights include Venice Film Festival hit, Gaza Mon Amour, a charming and unexpectedly funny romantic drama about an aging fisherman who accidentally catches an ancient statue in his fishing net, which proves to be an unexpected hinderance in his attempts to propose to his secret love. Also from Venice, and the Palestinian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards, is the critically acclaimed debut feature by Syrian writer/director Ameer Fakher Eldin, The Stranger, which is a fearless and moving film about survival and redemption. For cinephiles looking to be on the edge of their seat will be able to watch audience favourite from TIFF and the Sydney Film Festival, Huda’s Salon, which tells the twisting and gripping story about a Palestinian woman who is blackmailed into becoming an informant for Israel’s internal security service or the latest offering from acclaimed director Mohamed Diab, Venice Film Festival melodrama, Amira, which tells the story of a Palestinian teenager whose identity is suddenly thrown into question when she finds out her father could not have conceived her.
For Sydney and Melbourne audiences, the Palestinian Film Festival is proud to present four thought-provoking new documentaries as part of the festival. Highlights include is the inspirational and touching 2022 documentary Fadia’s Tree; spanning fifteen years, the film chronicles the story of a Palestinian refugee called Fadia, who embarks on a quest to find an ancient mulberry tree that grew next to her grandfather’s house in Historic Palestine, which takes her on a deeply personal and educational journey into her family and communities roots. Fresh from SXSW, political thriller Boycott is a bracing look at the far-reaching implications of anti-boycott legislation in the USA and tells the inspiring story of ordinary Americans standing up to protect our rights in an age of shifting political landscape. Sydneysiders will also have the special chance to watch two extra documentaries in Bankstown’s Bryan Brown Theatre, where they will be able to see Hummus: A Story of Appropriation, which tells the largely unknown story of the appropriation of Palestine’s treasured culinary staple and Little Palestine: Diary of a Siege, which offers an inside look into the district of Yarmouk, which sheltered the biggest Palestinian refugee camp in the world, in this harrowing and fascinating documentary highlights the depravity of the refugee camp whilst celebrating the courage of its inhabitants.
In another special treat for Sydney based cinephiles is one off retrospective screening of Return to Haifa, which is widely regarded as the first Palestinian feature film ever made. Based on a 1969 novel by Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani of the same name, Kanafani’s seminal allegorical story tells of Safia and Saeed, who are forced by gunfire and artillery to leave their 5-month-old son Khaldoun in the city of Haifa when they are expelled in April 1948. Twenty years later, with the 1967 war and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, the couple is able to travel to Haifa. They discover that Khaldoun, now Dov, was adopted by Jewish immigrants arriving in 1948, and has recently been enlisted into the Israeli army. All proceeds from the screening of this film will be donated to the Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation.
FULL PROGRAM FILM NOTES:
Feature Films
- Amira (2021) – From in demand Egyptian director Mohamed Diab (Moon Knight, 2022), a complex thriller about a girl’s whose identity isn’t what she thought it was.
- Fahra (2021) – Jordanian filmmaker Darin J. Sallam debut feature film tells the story of a young girl whose dreams change from seeking education to survival in Palestine 1948.
- Gaza Mon Amour (2020) – A charming and unexpectedly funny romantic drama about an aging fisherman who accidentally catches an ancient statue in his fishing net, which proves to be an unexpected spanner in his attempts to propose to his secret love
- Huda’s Salon (Dear Son) (2021) – A twisting and gripping drama about a Palestinian woman who is blackmailed into becoming an informant for Israel’s internal security service
- Mediterranean Fever (2022) – Winner of the Best Screenplay Award at Cannes 2022, Mediterranean Fever a darkly comic drama about an unlikely friendship formed between a depressed man and a small-time crook with an ulterior motive.
Documentaries
- Boycott (2021) – A bracing look at the far-reaching implications of anti-boycott legislation in the USA and tells the inspiring story of ordinary Americans standing up to protect our rights in an age of shifting political landscape
- Fadia’s Tree (2022) – An inspiring portrait of a refugee dreaming of home in a sensitive, sombre documentary that also has thoughts about friendship, politics and birds.
- Hummus: A Story of Appropriation (2020) – Tells the largely unknown story of the appropriation of Palestine’s treasured culinary staple.
- Little Palestine, A Diary of a Siege (2021) – A devastating inside look into the district of Yarmouk, which sheltered the biggest Palestinian refugee camp in the world.
Retrospective Screenings
- Return to Haifa (1982) – Widely regarded as Pelestine’s first film, Kassem Hawal’s adaptation of Ghassan Kanafani autobiographic story of the same name, tells of Safia and Saeed, who are forced by gunfire and artillery to leave their 5-month-old son Khaldoun in the city of Haifa when they are expelled in 1948, return 20 years later to find their son adopted and enlisted into the Israeli army.
ABOUT PALESTINIAN FILM FESTIVAL AUSTRALIA
The Palestinian Film Festival is produced by Cultural Media, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to building intercultural understanding and promoting Palestinian art and culture in Australia. Showcasing the very best of Palestinian cinema from around the globe, the Festival presents a unique opportunity to connect with and get to know Palestine and Palestinians through film. The Palestinian Film Festival is the only such festival in Australia; celebrating its 11th year, the Festival presents an innovative and comprehensive program solely dedicated to Palestinian cinema.
