120 KM
Palestinian artists Osama Atwa and Waseem Khair travel to Lebanon for an artistic tour in the refugee camps in Beirut. They both arrive in Lebanon despite the Israeli authority’s prohibition from travelling there. The tour of three weeks was enough for them to find themselves in a place that resembles them, and which triggered many questions, confusion and contradictions. Lebanese land quickly becomes home for them. After finishing the tour they go back to Palestine, and a new journey begins. They now are facing trials and Israeli interrogation rooms because of a visit no further than 120 km between their two countries. Their artistic tour costs them 20 months in Israeli prisons.
Documentary
Palestine, 2021
Arabic with English subtitles
30 minutes
16+
Director: Waseem Khair
Editing: Sary Bisharat
Music: John Handal
Waseem Khair is a Palestinian actor and director, born in 1986, he produced his first short film Throe in 2014. He worked with the Palestinian cooperation for radio and television directing many television shows. Nowadays, he is preparing for his second short live action Between Death. Waseem Khair has experience of theatrical shows, in directing and acting. He also won prizes for best director and best actor from international theatrical festivals.
HEADCOUNT
A Palestinian man placed in solitary confinement in an Israeli prison struggles physically as well as psychologically. Following a number of days, a cockroach enters his cell and becomes his only source of solace.
Fiction
Palestine, 2020
Arabic with English subtitles
14 minutes
16+
Director: Akram Alwaara
Cast: Mounir Mousa, Hazem Bnoura, Saed Al-Qaisi, Shaima Awawdeh, Ibrahim Al-Khmour
Cinematography: Ibrahim Handal
Editing: Akram Alwaara
Sound: Issam Murad, Nada El-Omari
Producer: Dar Al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture
Akram Alwaara is an independent filmmaker from Bethlehem. He worked on the production teams of the following upcoming films: Father & Daughter by Majdi El-Omari, Huda’s Salon by Hani Abu Assad and Kazoz by Amira Diab. Akram also works as a freelance journalist, videographer and editor for major media publishers including AJ+, Mondoweiss, Middle East Eye, Palestine News Network (PNN).
NIGHT
The dust of war keeps the eyes sleepless. Night brings peace and sleep to all the people in the broken town. Only the eyes of the mother of the missing child stay resilient. Night has to trick her into sleeping to save her soul.
Animation
Germany, Qatar, Palestine, Jordan
2021
Arabic with English subtitles
16 minutes
16+
Director: Ahmad Saleh
Screenwriter: Ahmad Saleh
Cast: Hiam Abbass, Rafia Aridi, Salma Saleh
Cinematography: Saed Saleh
Animation: Basel Nasr, Leon Vidmar, Saleh Saleh, Ahmad Saleh
Editing: Ahmad Saleh
Sound: David Black, Marcus Zilz
Music: Suad Bushnaq
Producer/s: Jessica Neubauer, Saleh Saleh, Fabian Driehorst
Ahmad Saleh is a Palestinian/German writer and director. His first film, House (2012) was nominated for the German Short Film Award and his second film, Ayny (2016) won the Student Academy Award. Recently he finished his third short film, Night and is developing his first feature.
ROSA
Operating out of her aunt’s flower shop, Rosa has made it her side job to ship undocumented bodies home for burial. To avoid any paperwork, red tape and also jail time, her operation is well-intentioned yet completely illegal. Time works against her as Ali, an Iraqi man desperately wants to get his recently deceased father’s body home where he is a respected member of his community. Rosa is Ali's only hope.
Fiction, Drama
USA, 2020
English
23 minutes
16+
Director: Suha Araj
Screenwriter: Suha Araj
Cast: Jackie Cruz, Hadi Tabbal, Samir Araj, Wilemina Olivia-Garcia
Cinematography: Zelmira Gainza
Editing: Andrea Chignoli
Sound: Milenko Skoknic
Music: Kinan Azmeh, Alsarah, Amir Elsaffar, Mark Gomes
Producer/s: Maryam Keshavarz, Anna Margarita Albelo
Suha Araj creates films that explore the displacement of immigrant communities. The Cup Reader, shot in Palestine, screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and was awarded The Next Great Filmmaker Award at the Berkshire International Film Festival and Baghdad International Film Festival. Araj followed with Pioneer High. She has received support for her work from the Sundance Film Festival, Torino Film Lab, Independent Filmmaker Project, Berlinale Talent Project Market, Center for Asian American Media and Cine Qua Non Lab. She is the 2018 recipient of Tribeca/Chanel Through Her Lens production funding for her new film Rosa. Rosa premiered at the Blackstar Festival in 2020 and was the recipient of the Best Short Narrative and the Lionsgate/Starz short film award and won the Best Short Narrative Award at Woodstock Film Festival. She is a 2021 Creative Capital Grantee for her feature film Khsara (Pickled) and a Warner Media 150 Fellow for her feature comedy/thriller, Bowling Green Massacre.