No glitz or glam at Gaza's first ever film festival

The Gaza Strip launched its first ever film festival on Saturday and although it was a far cry from the usual glitz and glamour associated with film festivals, it offered something far more real and substantial – namely exposing Israeli crimes.

With the participation of several countries from the Arab world and internationally the documentary film festival kicked off despite several hiccups, including the use of underground tunnels to bring in the film strips used for the event.

The festival, which lasts till Dec. 8, focuses on the suffering of Palestinian people under Israeli occupation in an attempt to garner international support by exposing the crimes committed by the Israeli authorities.

The festival comes as part of a series of cultural activities held to celebrate the choosing of Jerusalem as the 2009 capital of Arab culture, Riad Shahin, Palestinian director and chairman of the festival, told Al Arabiya.

Shahin added that a “special emphasis is being put on Jerusalem since it represents the most crucial problem in the Arab-Israeli conflict.”

"The idea of the festival came to us after several Palestinians received prestigious awards from renowned international festivals while many others in Gaza have been deprived of this opportunity because of the Israeli blockade," Shahin said.

Many Gazan journalists have been awarded international prizes but were unable to receive them because they were stuck in the strip, which is struggling under and Israeli blockade on one side and Egyptian control on the other.

Shahin explained that several Palestinians who work in journalism or the film industry do not have the chance to show their work outside the strip and said holding a festival in Gaza made it possible for these people to be recognized.

“It was the only way to encourage them and to promote Palestinian films, especially ones tackling the Palestinian cause,” Shahin said, adding “Israel is held accountable for placing obstacles in their way.”

Enterprises in Gaza

The festival, the first of its kind, aims at establishing a relationship between Palestinian filmmakers and their counterparts in different parts of the world and aims to draw media investors to the possibility of establishing international enterprises in Gaza.

But on a more serious note the festival director said he hopes the main focus will be on Israel's inhumane practices in the impoverished strip, which is the most densely populated area on earth.

“The festival also aims to expose the practices of the Israeli authorities against Palestinians as well as challenging the blockade as it enters its fourth year,” Shahin said.

The festival committee received a total of 152 documentary films from different parts of the world, namely Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Norway, United States and a number of Arab-Israelis and people in the West Bank.

A Gaza-based committee picked 40 films to take part in the festival and a Cairo-based international jury will pick the best five films to win.

“We tried our best to get the jury in to Gaza, but we couldn’t because of the Israeli blockade, so we chose Cairo.”

The festival also aims to expose the practices of the Israeli authorities against Palestinians as well as challenging the blockade as it enters its fourth year

Festival director -- Riad Shahin

Tunnels and film strips

Despite finally getting it together, several hiccups threatened to stop the film from rolling.

Shahin explained that efforts to secure the arrival of the participating films to the strip were tricky.

“In many cases, we had to use the smuggling tunnels that link Gaza to Egypt in order to secure the safe arrival of the festival material.”

The festival was originally scheduled to be held on Nov. 15, but was postponed as the blockade made it difficult to accomplish everything on time.



(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid)