Nazareth 2000 (Nasira Alfein)

 

ABOUT THE FILM

Returning to his native city just months before the new millennium, filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad, captures the daily, idiosyncratic beats of Nazareth - a city both Christian and Muslim consider one of the most sacred in the world. Today, 72 percent of the inhabitants are Muslim, but most of the land is owned by Christian institutions - a situation that causes great tension. Set against the background of the riots surrounding a square that both Christians and Muslims lay claim to, Abu-Assad allows his story, NAZARETH 2000, to unfold through the eyes of two cynical, funny and wise gas station attendants who have been working at the service station for decades. Their comments on the political and social conditions of their city paint both a tragic and subtle image of its inhabitants.

 
 
 
DOAN | Filmmakers
Hany Abu-Assad
Hany Abu-Assad

Born in Nazareth in 1961, Abu-Assad studied and worked as an airplane engineer in The Netherlands for several years, before entering the world of cinema and television as a producer.

 

Hany Abu-Assad -- 55' (Palestine/Netherlands: 2001)

Newstime (Zaman al-Akhbar)

 

ABOUT THE FILM

This documentary film celebrates life's little details, and at the same time reveals the layers of our relationship with death and life. The film is a diary of the director's life and that of four boys who live in her neighborhood. As political reality worsens, the five characters find that their life's small details are taken over by political events.

 
 
DOAN | Filmmakers
Azza el-Hassan
Azza el-Hassan

Azza El-Hassan's work has been produced and shown by various international TVnetworks such as BBC, arte, YLE, ARD and many others. It has also been screened in film festivals and art venues around the world like, Yamamgata Documentary FilmFestival (Japan), International Film Festival IDFA (Holland), Lipzic (Germany)and many others.

 
 

Azza El-Hassan -- 54' (Palestine: 2001)

Night of Soldiers

 

ABOUT THE FILM

A short film offering an impressionistic glimpse into the experience of Palestinians in Ramallah living under military siege.

 
 
DOAN | Filmmakers
Mohammed Al-Sawalmeh
Mohammed Al-Sawalmeh

Muhammed Al-Sawalmeh was born in Palestine in 1955. After graduating with a Masters Degree in Movie Directing. As a free lancer Al-Sawalmehwrote and directed several documentaries. From 1996-2002 he worked as head of the Documentary Film Department in Palestine.

 
 

Mohammed al-Sawalmeh -- 15' (Palestine: 2002)

Nothing to Lose

 

ABOUT THE FILM

A young man who has learned early in life to fight for what he believes in must take on the city's crime lords single-handedly after they kill his father and the rest of his family. With no one left, he has nothing to lose.

 
 
 
DOAN | Filmmakers 2
Izidore Musallam
Izidore Musallam

Izidore Musallam is a director and most recently produced the Sci Fi Pictures original film: Savage Planet. He was born in Haifa and graduated with a BFA in film production from York University in Toronto, Canada where he now lives and works.

 

Izidore Musallam -- 90' (Canada: 1994)

Obstacle

 

ABOUT THE FILM

In June of 2002, on the brink of the U.S. war on Iraq, the construction of a 230-mile barrier began. Though it is referred to as a “security fence” by Israel, the form changes along the route, and near large cities it is actually a concrete wall twice as high as the former Berlin Wall. Obstacle is a feature documentary that explores the Palestinian/Israeli conflict through tracing the construction of the Israeli Apartheid Wall. The wall will serve as a thematic backbone, through which the documentary will examine several key issues: the silent yet critical war over natural resources, the threat to peace posed by Israeli settlements, and the idea of “transfer” now openly discussed as a way to purge Palestinians from their ancestral land. Obstacle also explores the importance of the Israeli left, the many internationals in solidarity with Palestinians, and the emergence of a non-violent resistance movement. The film’s unique approach immerses the viewer in the confusion and desperation the Palestinians encounter daily as they seek to understand this wall’s impact on their lives.

 
DOAN | Filmmakers 2
Nida Sinnokrot
Nida Sinnokrot

Award-winning filmmaker and installation artist Nida Sinnokrot's unique style is very much informed by his past. Sinnokrot was part of the Whitney Independent Studio Program, the Made in Palestine exhibit and a number of group shows in the US and abroad. In 2002, he was awarded a Rockefeller Media Fellowship with which he went to Palestine to make a Horizontal Loop installation. 

 

Nida Sinnokrot -- Documentary, 115’, English (Palestine/USA: 2003)

Oh, Grandmother (Ah Ya Sity)

 

ABOUT THE FILM

A historical overview vis-à-vis Palestine, especially the history of Jerusalem, through my grandmother’s eyes. She tells her side of the story since childhood, while the Ottoman Empire was still colonizing Palestine.

 
DOAN | Filmmakers 2
Enas Muthaffar
Enas Muthaffar

Enas I. Muthaffar was born and raised in Jerusalem. She obtained a BA in film direction from the Higher Institute of Cinema in Cairo, Egypt, and an MA in Feature Film from Goldsmiths College, University of London

 

Enas I. Muthaffar -- Documentary, 5' (Egypt: 2000)