Dr Anandi Ramamurthy (Sheffield Hallam University) to host a series of Palestinian Short films: 70 Years of Nakba

Dr Anandi Ramamurthy, C3RI‘s Reader in Post-Colonial Cultures, has announced a series of film screenings and discussions for May 2018. The film programme is organised as part of research for the AHRC Creative Interruptions project. Post-screening discussion will take place with Dr Dani Abulhawa (Sheffield Hallam University) in Sheffield, Ruth Abu Rashed (University of Manchester) in Manchester, and Dr Marwan Darweish (University of Coventry) in Birmingham.

Why have thousands of individuals in Gaza participated in what has been named the Great March of Return this month? This popular resistance has resulted in the death of 30 civilians including the cinematographer, Yaser Murtaja. A unique programme of short films aims to reflect on the events of 1948 that marked a decisive turning point in the Middle East. The majority of Palestinians were expelled or fled as the state of Israel was established. History is generally written by the victors and this is also true of the history that is recounted by cinema. Yet, there were always film makers who were determined to document the destruction of over 500 Palestinians villages, the fate of the people in refugee camps and their resistance.

A programme of 9 short films by a diverse group of Palestinian film makers will recall both this forgotten history and contemporary Palestinian experience. Screening will take place in venues in Sheffield, Manchester and Birmingham. The first part of the programme reflects directly on the events of the Nakba (the 1948 Catastrophe) and the dream of return through animation, oral testimony and digital technology. The second part explores contemporary experiences, through traditional documentary, docu-drama and the film essay.

 

Dates:
Wed 2 May 18:15pm HOME, Manchester, M15 4FN – 0161 200 1500
Tues 8 May 18:00pm Showroom, Sheffield, S1 2BX – 0114 275 7727
Wed 9 May 19:00pm Midlands Arts Centre, B12 9QH – 0121 446 3232

Creative Interruptions is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and aims to explore the way in which disenfranchised communities use the arts to have their voice heard. Creative Interruptions is led by Brunel University, with Sheffield Hallam University leading a strand on Palestinian cinema. The screenings are organised in collaboration with Cinema Palestino Sheffield & Manchester and West Midlands Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Part One: History and exile

• House Ahmed Saleh 2011 (4mins)
• Alyasiini Sahera Dirbas 2012 (22 mins)
• Your father was born 100 years ago and so was the Nakba Razan Al Slaah 2017 (7 mins)

Part Two: Contemporary dreams and realities

• Oslo Syndrome (6 min) Ayman Azraq
  Journey of a Sofa (9 min) Alaa Al Ali
• Twenty Handshakes for Peace (3 min) Mahdi Fleifel
• Message to Obama (7 min) Muhannad Salahat
• Interference (11 min) Anim Nayfeh
• Today they Took my Son (8mins) Farah Nabulsi

Programme length 77 mins

For more information please contact Dr Anandi Ramamurthy.