13 - 15 November

Welcome to the Palestinian Film Festival. It is with great pleasure that Cultural Media presents the second PFF to audiences in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

Not enough is known, or shown, about Palestine beyond politics.Through this festival, we hope to share with you some of the faces, places and stories of Palestine. Palestine, for all its pain, suffering and challenges… and Palestine, for all its beauty, love and hope. These films celebrate Palestinian life, arts and culture.

Tickets $16.50/$13.50

For more information visit the official
Palestinian Film Festival website

Director: Najwa Najjar – 95 mins
Pomegranates and Myrrh traces the story of free spirited dancer, Kamar, and her joyful wedding to Zaid. Celebrations are cut short almost immediately by Zaid’s imprisonment in an Israeli jail for refusing to give up his land. Free-spirited Kamar wants to support her husband but struggles with the idea of continuing to dance and pursuing her own dreams. Pomegranates and Myrrh is a touching portrayal of what it means to battle for one’s dreams against the realities of social taboo and war. “In every pomegranate, there is one seed that comes from heaven” Old Arab proverb

INCLUING SHORT
INTENSIVE CARE UNIT: DIR: ANNE PAQ - 5 MINS

Director: Mike Dibb – 118 mins
Edward Said is widely recognised as one of the most important literary critics of the late 20th century, and for many years the most prominent spokespeople for the Palestinian cause. Said is also the author of several influential texts, including the now seminal work, Orientalism. Less than a year before his death in September 2003, he spoke at length with the filmmakers about his life, work, Palestine, politics and his continuing preoccupations. The result is Edward Said: The Last Interview - a fresh insight into one of the most brilliant minds of our time.

ARAFAT & I
Director: Mahdi Fleifel – 15 mins
Arafat & I centres on the story of Marwan, a Palestinian in love. Finally meeting Lisa, Marwan has found the girl he's going to marry. Everything about her is perfect - she was even born on the same day as Chairman Arafat! But does Lisa know the significance of this coincidence? And how far will Marwan go to make her understand? With refreshing humor Arafat & I explores the ambivalent relationship between love and national struggle.

INCLUDING SHORTS
Noor: DIR: EYAS SALMAN - 18 MINS
Neighbours: DIR: GEORGINA ASFOUR- 13 MINS
Pickled: DIR: RAZI NAJJAR - 16 MINS
Sedition: DIR: MIN SOOK LEE - 16 MINS
Encyclopedia britanica: DIR: SOHAIL DAHDAL

Director: Elia SULEIMAN – 109 mins
Arguably the most celebrated of Palestinian directors, the work of Elia Suleiman often centers on the portrayal of the daily life of those Palestinians who remained after 1948 and were labelled “Israeli-Arabs” living as a minority in their own homeland. Suleiman’s most recent work The Time That Remains is a semi-biographical film, that maps the historical events effecting Palestinians since 1948. Drawn from Suleiman’s father’s diaries and mother’s letters, the film presents a humorous and intensely personal portrayal of Palestinian experience.

THE HEART OF JENIN
Director: Markus Vetter & Leon Geller – 85 muns
The Heart of Jenin is the story of Ahmed Khatib, a Palestinian boy shot by Israeli soldiers whose father Ismail decided, within hours, to donate his son’s organs to six Israeli children to save their lives. One and a half years have passed since then. To find out how his deed changed the lives of the recipients, Ismail travels throughout Israel to meet the children and families he helped. The Heart of Jenin is at its core a story of peace that seemed, for a short instant, to prevail over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

INCLUDING SHORT
Fatenah: DIR: AHMAD HABASH - 30 MINS

Director: Jackie Reem Salloum
Braiding together the stories of young Palestinians living in Gaza, the West Bank and inside Israel, Slingshot Hip Hop reveals hip hop as a tool of empowerment used to surmount divisions imposed by occupation and poverty. From internal checkpoints and Separation Walls, to gender norms and generational differences, Slingshot Hip Hop presents the inspiring stories of young Palestinians crossing the borders that separate them.