Albawaba.com - Amman
Palestinian filmmaker Najwa Najjar will screen three of her films at the Orthodox Club in the Jordanian capital of Amman Wednesday and Friday.
The showing of the Palestinian films, followed by a discussion with the filmmaker, will take place to raise funds for medical and humanitarian relief. All funds raised will be divided between the two Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem: Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC) and Union of Charitable Organizations in Jerusalem.
Najjar’s three documentaries (all in Arabic with English subtitles) are:
A Boy…Called Mohammed, 2001. It is a 10 minute documentary on a 14 year old boy, Mohammed, who works carrying goods for Palestinians across the Qalandia Checkpoint manned by Israeli soldiers.
Jawhar al Silwan (Quintessence of Oblivion), 2001, is a 45 minute documentary on Cinema al Hambra still standing at the end of Salahaddin Street in Arab East Jerusalem. Behind its now sealed doors lie the stories of the city’s history. It is a beautifully rendered filmic journey that was originally conceived as the exploration of the social life of Jerusalem through the history of the city's well known movie palace, the Hambra Cinema, from the 1950's until its closure in 1989. Then five months ago the Intifada began, and everything had to change. Najjar found herself in the new reality of today's Jerusalem. Using oral histories of Jerusalemites living both in the city and in diaspora, present day interviews, archival footage of Palestinian everyday life, as well as radio broadcasts interwoven with fascinating clips from the films shown at the Hambra over the decades, Najjar creates a rich and powerful Palestinian mosaic of their Jerusalem past and present.
Jawhar al Silwan won a prize at the ART Desert Rain Film Festival, Italy (6/2001).
Naim and Wadee’a, 1999, is a 20 minute documentary on the social history of Yaffa, Palestine based on the oral history of the filmmaker’s family, and includes photo archives of the Azar family (a Yaffan family). The film won the prize of Films of Conflict and Resolution at the Hamptons International Film Festival (11/2000).
Place: Orthodox Club in Abdoun (Wahbeh Tamari Hall)
Dates/Times: April 10 Wednesday 8:30 pm, and April 12 Friday 6:30 pm
Ticket: sold at Orthodox Club, Abdoun, minimum donation of JD10.
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
