Palestinian Film Festival 2010

Screening alongside Miral, 138 Pounds in My Pocket looks to the remarkable story of Hind Al Hussein, who in 1948 (following the partition of Palestine) came across a large group of orphans in Jerusalem who were survivors of the Deir Yassin massacre. Part biographical, 138 Pounds in My Pocket offers unique insight into the commitment and personal struggle of Al Hussein as she establishes an orphanage in her Jerusalem home.

Director Nasri Hajjaj constructs a touching and emotionally evocative eulogy to the life of the Palestinian national poet Mahmoud Darwish. Using the powerful frame of Darwish's poetry, As the Poet Said follows the journey of the Mahmoud Darwish's life tracing the cities and towns in which the poet lived introducing us to his contemporaries, fellow writers and admirers of his work. A testament to the enduring power of Darwish"s work and life, As the Poet Says lends unique insight into what it means to be the voice for those who belong to a nation without a home.

An award-winning feature documentary film, Budrus chronicles the struggle of Palestinian community organiser, Ayed Morrar, who leads an unarmed movement to save his village from Israel’s apartheid Separation Wall. Capturing the diverse voices implicated in the Israel/Palestine conflict, Budrus is an insightful reflection on the potential of a Palestinian led non-violence resistance movement.

Nominated for the "Palme d'Or" award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, Divine Intervention is a 2002 surreal black comedy by acclaimed director Elia Suleiman. Divine Intervention stars Suleiman as the silent, expressionless protaganist who is a Palestinian living in Nazareth and whose girlfriend lives several checkpoints away in Ramallah. Standing as one of the most important contemporary Palestinian films, Divine Intervention consists of a series of playful interconnected sketches that investigate the bizarre reality of what it means to live under occupation.

The Israeli siege of Beirut in 1982 signalled not only the devastation of Palestinian life in Lebanon but also obliterated the Palestinian cultural presence there. Perhaps the most significant Palestinian cultural treasure lost was the Palestinian Film Archive. Fresh, innovative and reflective, For Cultural Purposes Only creatively responds to the loss of archive to reveal the importance of cinema in the formation of cultural identity and collective memory.

A collection of 12 short films made by filmmakers from around the world, Gaza Winter focuses on the 2008/2009 bombardment of Gaza. Compiled by a group of Palestinian filmmakers based in Ramallah, Gaza Winter channels collective outrage into a creative collaborative effort resulting in a diverse and a powerful collection.

A reflection upon what it means to become a celebrated Palestinian director, Awkward is a darkly humorous account of the reception of Elia Suleiman"s film Divine Intervention. Awkward is result of a collection of short-films commissioned by the Cannes Film Festival reflecting on the nature of cinema and its place within the lives of filmmakers. As a response to the commission, Awkward reveals to us much about not only Suleiman"s conception of the role of cinema but also the difficulty faced by Palestinian filmmakers when critically engaging with the issue of Palestine.

The latest film by acclaimed director Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and The Butterfly) Miral chronicles the story of Hind Al Husseini's effort to establish an orphanage in Jerusalem after the 1948 partition of Palestine, later to be known as the Dar el-Tifel Institute. Intenational star Freida Pinto stars as Miral, who was sent to the Institute by her father following her mother’s death. Brought up safely inside the Institute’s walls, she is naïve to the troubles that surround her until she is assigned to teach at a refugee camp; a position that implicates her in the reality of the Palestinian struggle.

Winner of the Golden Muhr, Dubai Film Festival This film explores the anxiety that Palestinians are experiencing, especially those uprooted from their land. It seeks to express the duality of life and death, homeland and exile, in Palestinian identity. Shot in many countries, including Lebanon, Syria and the UK, it talks about leading political and cultural figures, and ordinary Palestinians, subjected to massacres from 1948 until today.