Ma'aloul Celebrates Its Destruction (Ma'loul Tahtafilu bi Damariha)

 

ABOUT THE FILM

Ma’aloul is a Palestinian village in Galilee. In 1948, it was destroyed by the Isreali armed forces and its inhabitants expelled either to Lebanon or to the neighboring town of Nazareth. Ever since, the former inhabitants of Ma’aloul are only allowed to visit it once a year on the anniversary of Israel’s independence and have developed a tradition of organizing a picnic on this day on the very site of the destroyed village.

 
 
DOAN | Filmmakers
Michel Khleifi
Michel Khleifi

Michel Khleifi was born in Nazareth in 1950. In 1970 he traveled to Belgium where he studied television and theatre directing. Considered the founder of modern Palestinian cinema, Khleifi produced and directed several full-length features and documentaries for international release and broadcast. His previous documentary feature, Fertile Memory (1980), was the first Palestinian film to be shown at the Cannes FF and was a groundbreaking work, both on a political and aesthetic level, treating the struggle for women's freedom and emancipation, across the generations and under occupation, in a haunting lyrical style that became all his own.

 
 

Michel Khleifi -- Documentary, 30’ (Belgium: 1985)

Midwest

 

ABOUT THE FILM

Midwest goes from morning until dusk following the dispossessed and immigrant communities in Omaha, Nebraska.

 
 
DOAN | Filmmakers 2
Rosalind Nashashibi
Rosalind Nashashibi

Originally from Jerusalem, Rosalind Nashashibi was born in the UK of Irish and Palestinian parents. She has an MFA from Glasgow School of Art. Nashashibi is an experimental filmmaker working predominantly in 16mm film. She is the recipient of a number of awards and grants including the prestigious Beck's Futures Award.

 
 

Rosalind Nashashibi -- Experimental, 11’ (USA: 2002)

Moon Sinking (Ofol al-Qamar)

 

ABOUT THE FILM

This is a story about the last days of the lives of seven people before the collision of the Moon into the Earth. It is about the daydreams of a young man, the silence of a lonely widow, the ramblings of a village idiot, the anxiety of a boy with a toothache, the cravings for freedom of a prisoner on a hunger strike, the fantasies of a young woman in love and the plans for a better future of an couple about to immigrate.

 

FILMMAKER

Ahmad Habash -- 50’ (Palestine: 2001)

My Very Private Map

 

ABOUT THE FILM

Why is it easier for the director to go to New York than to Gaza? This film is a personal reflection on the 50th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba. The director combines archival images of the Nakba with images of life today to express feelings about the events of 1948 and the consequences for this people.

 
 
DOAN | Filmmakers
Sobhi Al-Zobeidi
Sobhi Al-Zobeidi

Sobhi al-Zobaidi is an independent Palestinian filmmaker, artist and scholar. He studied economics at Birzeit University and Cinema at NYU.

 
 

Sobhi Al-Zobaidi -- 20' (Palestine: 1998)

Mythology (Ustura)

 

ABOUT THE FILM

The Khalil family, from the village of Saffuri, was dispersed in the war of 1948. Only the grandfather decided to stay in what became Israel, along with his youngest son Salim. Now an adult, Salim has an Israeli passport, and wants to reunite his dispersed family, including his brothers, who he does not know.

 

FILMMAKER

Nizar Hasan -- 93' (Palestine: 1998)

Naim & Wadee'a

 

ABOUT THE FILM

A documentary exploring social life in Yaffa before 1948 through a miniature portrait of a Palestinian couple, Wadee’a Aghabi and Naim Azar, constructed through the oral histories presented by their daughters and relatives.

 
DOAN | Filmmakers 2
Najwa Najjar
Najwa Najjar

Writer/ Director Najwa Najjar received her BA in Political Science and Economics, and MA in Film and Video production from the US. She has worked in both documentary and fiction since 1999. She has reviewed books for acclaimed journals, and her articles on Palestinian cinema have been published in both local and international newspapers. She lives in Palestine.

 
 

Najwa Najjar -- Documentary, 20’, Arabic with English Subtitles (Palestine: 1999)