Perhaps Palestinian cinema cannot help but be ironic, when the most widely known cinematic images of Palestine are those that close Otto Preminger’s 1960 film Exodus and Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List. In Exodus, youthful Israeli forces win a decisive battle against the old-world savagery of Britain and Nazi Germany, before turning to fight the encroaching Arabs. In the Spielberg film, Holocaust survivors walk across a plain with Jerusalem in the background: a landscape that, given the location, can only be the Bethlehem wilderness. While Exodus reduces the life of the cities of pre-Israel Palestine to an image of marauding savages, Spielberg erases the local population entirely. These Hollywood histories depend upon their directors’ bullish confidence; Palestinian cinema, in contrast, is characterised by doubt and self-reflection.
This site appears to be the official home of the festival, which is held at SOAS and the Barbican.
As an Israeli Arb i just want us to stop dealing without end with complains and get to work: building life and asking for peace – Israelies as a contrast are criticizing themself – while our arts is allways so egotistical and childlish !
we want peace !! and we want our leader to be brave enough to leave the self pitier aside and stop Hamas – and fight for a logical solution !!
films and self pitier with criticizm of others want do for me or for Palestinians any good !! we want peace !
All is need the world on this planet
How about the next festival? You have any news about it?
See http://www.palestinefilm.org for the programme for the 2011 London Palestine Film Festival starting this Friday 29th May