Rashid Masharawi

Curfew (Hatta Isaar Akhar)

 

About the Film

A unique dramatization of the human cost of the Arab-lsraeli conflict. Set during an endless curfew in a quiet Palestinian quarter of occupied Gaza, the film evokes the pressures and displacements of life under siege: the spookily quiet streets; the mounting despair and frustration; the tear gas clouds and electricity outages; the crackle of loudspeakers and the headlights sweeping the night. Curfew conveys the Palestinian side of the Middle East crisis, but its insights would be equally valid for any place where civil liberties are routinely suppressed and ordinary life is not permitted to be ordinary.

 
 
 
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Rashid Masharawi
Rashid Masharawi

Rashid Masharawi was born and raised in Shati refugee camp, Gaza Strip. He is a self-taught filmmaker, beginning to work at eighteen in the cinema industry and acquiring skills on over twenty films before starting himself to write and direct his own. Masharawi’s films portray his knowledge of living under the Israeli Occupation in refugee camps, the new space of the intifada, as well as his constant reflection on cinema narrative.

 

Rashid Masharawi -- 74’, Arabic/Hebrew (Palestine: 1994)

Haifa

 

ABOUT THE FILM

Though he lives in Gaza, his name is Haifa and he dreams of returning to the city of the same name. He may be the local fool, but he sees and understands much about the hopes and aspirations of his Gaza relatives: Abu Said hopes for an improvement in the political situation, since it means the release of his eldest son from prison. His wife already has her eye on a bride for the boy. A younger son, cynical and rebellious, believes in nothing, while their 12-year-old daughter is a romantic, dreaming of the future's largesse.

 
 
 
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Rashid Masharawi
Rashid Masharawi

Rashid Masharawi was born and raised in Shati refugee camp, Gaza Strip. He is a self-taught filmmaker, beginning to work at eighteen in the cinema industry and acquiring skills on over twenty films before starting himself to write and direct his own. Masharawi’s films portray his knowledge of living under the Israeli Occupation in refugee camps, the new space of the intifada, as well as his constant reflection on cinema narrative.

 

Rashid Masharawi -- 75', Arabic (Palestine/Germany/Netherlands: 1995)

Humus Al-eid

 

ABOUT THE FILM

Layla is a Palestinian girl who lives in Paris. Her parents live in Palestine. She follows closely her parents’ news through widely-transmitted daily T.V reports: pictures about war, starvation and disasters occurring worldwide but especially in her homeland. She writes a letter to her parents telling them that she has decided to stop listening to the T.V news and to prepare Humus (a popular Arabic dish that is well known in Palestine) to welcome the feast.

 
 
DOAN | Filmmakers 2
Rashid Masharawi
Rashid Masharawi

Rashid Masharawi was born and raised in Shati refugee camp, Gaza Strip. He is a self-taught filmmaker, beginning to work at eighteen in the cinema industry and acquiring skills on over twenty films before starting himself to write and direct his own. Masharawi’s films portray his knowledge of living under the Israeli Occupation in refugee camps, the new space of the intifada, as well as his constant reflection on cinema narrative.

 
 

Rashid Masharawi -- 12' (Palestine: 2003)

Laila’s Birthday

 

ABOUT THE FILM

Abu Laila used to be a judge, but because the government doesn't have the means to renew his assignment he is forced to be a taxi driver. On the day his daughter Laila becomes seven years old his wife insists that he'll be at home early and bring her a present and a cake. Abu Laila's has nothing else on his mind then completing this mission. But the daily life in Palestine has other plans.

 
 
 
Featured
Rashid Masharawi
Rashid Masharawi

Rashid Masharawi was born and raised in Shati refugee camp, Gaza Strip. He is a self-taught filmmaker, beginning to work at eighteen in the cinema industry and acquiring skills on over twenty films before starting himself to write and direct his own. Masharawi’s films portray his knowledge of living under the Israeli Occupation in refugee camps, the new space of the intifada, as well as his constant reflection on cinema narrative.

 

Rashid Masharawi -- 71’, Arabic (Palestine/Tunisia/Netherlands: 2008)

Little Wings

 

ABOUT THE FILM

In January 2009, while Israel is bombarding Gaza, Rashid Masharawi is in Baghdad making a film on young children forced to work in post-war Iraq. Contrasting their lives with those of similarly burdened Gazan children, the film presents a world in which everyone, no matter how young, has to struggle to survive. As a Palestinian and Gazan, with extensive personal experience of life in refugee camps, Masharawi's deep sense of identification with the children's traumas makes for a deeply affecting and authoritative document of local situation.

 
 
DOAN | Filmmakers 2
Rashid Masharawi
Rashid Masharawi

Rashid Masharawi was born and raised in Shati refugee camp, Gaza Strip. He is a self-taught filmmaker, beginning to work at eighteen in the cinema industry and acquiring skills on over twenty films before starting himself to write and direct his own. Masharawi’s films portray his knowledge of living under the Israeli Occupation in refugee camps, the new space of the intifada, as well as his constant reflection on cinema narrative.

 
 

Rashid Masharawi -- Documentary, 52’, Arabic (Qatar/Tunisia: 2009)

Ticket to Jerusalem

 

ABOUT THE FILM

A Palestinian couple, Jabar and Sana, live in a refugee camp near Ramallah. Sana volunteers with the emergency service of the Red Crescent Society. Jaber is unemployed and with no job prospects in the immediate future. He immerses himself in his passion, running a mobile cinema for children throughout the West Bank. One day, an opportunity to organize a screening in the old city of Jerusalem is made available to him. Despite the numerous obstacles that face him, he is determined to keep his commitment.

 
 
Featured
Rashid Masharawi
Rashid Masharawi

Rashid Masharawi was born and raised in Shati refugee camp, Gaza Strip. He is a self-taught filmmaker, beginning to work at eighteen in the cinema industry and acquiring skills on over twenty films before starting himself to write and direct his own. Masharawi’s films portray his knowledge of living under the Israeli Occupation in refugee camps, the new space of the intifada, as well as his constant reflection on cinema narrative.

 

Rashid Masharawi -- 85', Arabic (Australia/France/Netherlands/Palestine: 2002)

Upside Down (Makloubeh)

 

ABOUT THE FILM

"Makloubeh" or "Upside Down" is the name of a typical Palestinian dish that gives the film its title. Rashid Mashharawi uses the theme of food to explore Palestinian identity. With disarming humor, his depiction of rural simplicity and the bucolic freshness of this shots help him achieve his objective.

 
 
DOAN | Filmmakers 2
Rashid Masharawi
Rashid Masharawi

Rashid Masharawi was born and raised in Shati refugee camp, Gaza Strip. He is a self-taught filmmaker, beginning to work at eighteen in the cinema industry and acquiring skills on over twenty films before starting himself to write and direct his own. Masharawi’s films portray his knowledge of living under the Israeli Occupation in refugee camps, the new space of the intifada, as well as his constant reflection on cinema narrative.

 
 

Rashid Masharawi -- 10’ (Palestine: 2000)

Waiting (Attente)

 

ABOUT THE FILM

Before leaving to settle abroad, Ahmad accepts one last job. He must audition actors for the new National Palestinian Theatre. On the road with interviewer Bissan and her cameraman Loumir, Ahmad goes in search of talent in the numerous refugee camps of Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Hopefully for the last time, Ahmad experiences the insurmountable difficulties of life in Palestine: harassing searches at check points and borders, barricades, constant tension. He realizes the destiny of all waiting refugees is much the same as his own. He ends up guiding the auditioning actors into dramatizing what best embodies their destiny. But with the chance to catch his plane at risk, Ahmad could see the opportunity for his long-awaited exile slip away.

 
 
Featured
Rashid Masharawi
Rashid Masharawi

Rashid Masharawi was born and raised in Shati refugee camp, Gaza Strip. He is a self-taught filmmaker, beginning to work at eighteen in the cinema industry and acquiring skills on over twenty films before starting himself to write and direct his own. Masharawi’s films portray his knowledge of living under the Israeli Occupation in refugee camps, the new space of the intifada, as well as his constant reflection on cinema narrative.

 
 

Rashid Masharawi -- 90’, Arabic (Palestine/France: 2005)