“Palestinian films protect memory”, for directors Mohanad Yaqubi and Rashid Masharawi

The Palestine Film Festival, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary, opened Friday June 7 in Paris with a tribute to Gaza and the archive work of Palestinian directors.

“The war did not start on October 7. The films prove that the occupation has existed for a long time.”, asserts Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi, met at the Lumino cinema. It is in this small Parisian cinema that the tenth edition of the Palestine Cinema Festival opened, with the mission of contributing to the promotion of Palestinian cinema. The festival offers Palestinian artists the opportunity to meet their audience and create a space for discussions, meetings and debates.

On the opening night of the festival, the public and organizers were moved as they paid tribute to the tens of thousands of Palestinians who died under the bombardments of the Israeli army. Keffiyeh on their shoulders, this black and white checkered scarf that became a symbol during the Arab revolt of the 1930s, they display a serious expression before the screening of the three films.

“Scenes of occupations in Gaza” (1973)

Mustafa Abu Ali is considered one of the founders of Palestinian cinema. His work entitled Occupation scenes in Gaza (1973) is created from a French report on the Gaza Strip that Mustafa Abu Ali edited, inserting additional images and commentary. We see life in the camps of the 1970s and the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip.

This 13-minute documentary recalls the childhood of 62-year-old director Rashid Masharawi, in Shati, in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. “I recognize all the places we see in the film, even my neighborhood. I was 10 years old, I know how all these kids feel.”, he explains in English after the screening of the films. “These images shot 60 years ago are the same as today in Gaza. This shows the importance of cinema and archives in documenting the world“, adds Palestinian director Mohanad Yaqubi.

“Vibrations from Gaza” (2023)

The documentary Vibrations from Gaza (2023) by Toronto-based Palestinian artist Rehab Nazzal shows insight into the experiences of deaf children in Gaza, particularly the violence they are exposed to during Israeli military operations. Born and raised under frequent assaults by occupying forces, Amani, Musa, Israa and others share vivid memories of bombings and the constant presence of military drones in the sky. Children describe their perceptions of missile strikes through the vibrations in the air, the shaking of the ground and the resonance of collapsing buildings. This buzzing goes through their bodies day and night, preventing them from sleeping, “even if you cover your ears”they say.

“These children don’t understand what’s happening. They don’t understand why everyone fled during the bombings”, comments Rashid Masharawi. His brother works with an association helping deaf people in Gaza. “Their greatest fear is being injured and, above all, losing the use of their hands, their only means of communication.”he adds.

“Offing” (2021)

What are the stories that escape the framework of war? This is what the experimental film questions Offing (2021) by researcher and artist Oraib Toukan, who grew up in Jordan. The film was produced following the 2021 Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. It confronts the personal stories of Gaza-based artist Salman Nawati with images shot by Oraib Toukan, which focus on tenderness and certain acts of life that have become impossible. Salman Nawati describes water shortages that lead him to flush toilets one in three times. “The water that cleans the baby is used to clean the laundry, then that same water is used to clean the floor and then water the plants“, adds Rashid Masharawi.

The film allows us to feel a reality, that of the bombings which burst among the flowers in an unpredictable way. Sometimes, Salman Nawati does not take a shower for five days, for fear of being separated from his loved ones for a few minutes and that a bombing hits them unexpectedly. “Making cinema becomes a mode of survival. We feel like we’re archiving urgently, but we have to tell our own stories. Cinema has a new role, that of protecting our memory for future generations.”insists Mohanad Yaqubi.

The tenth edition of the Palestine Cine Festival 2024 in Ile-de-France and Paris runs until June 16.