Month: April 2013

The Freedom Theatre Premier Our Sign is the Stone: The Story of Nabi Saleh

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The freedom theatre 

PREMIERE PERFORMANCE: 4TH MAY 3:30PM, NABI SALEH

Our Sign is the Stone is a production based on testimonies gathered from the village of Nabi Saleh. The play traces the political development of a young boy as his community organizes an extraordinary campaign against the Israeli Occupation.

The play attests to the struggles, sacrifices and steadfastness of Palestinian communities engaged in civil resistance against practices of land confiscation, ethnic segregation and racial discrimination.

Each performance will be followed by a Playback Theatre event, in which audience members will share their own stories of struggle against Israeli human rights violations.

PERFORMANCES
Wednesday 1st May 4pm: Jenin Refugee Camp, The Freedom Theatre (Preview performance)

Saturday 4th May 3:30pm: Nabi Saleh, Community Hall (Premiere performance)

Sunday 5th May 4pm: Al Walajah, School Hall

Monday 6th May 4pm: Arabeh (Old City), Palace

Tuesday 7th May 10:30am (Women-only performance): Faquaa, Community Hall

Tuesday 7th May 7pm: Faquaa, Community Hall

Wednesday 8th May 4pm: Qusra, Community Hall

DEDICATION
The Freedom Theatre dedicates this play to Mustafa Tamimi and Rushdi Tamimi.

CONTACT
For more information, please contact
Alia Alrosan: E: alia@thefreedomtheatre.org, T: 0599304523
Ben Rivers: E: ben@thefreedomtheatre.org, T: 0592902256

FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/events/125810880944873/

THE FREEDOM BUS
Our Sign is the Stone is a production of The Freedom Theatre’s Freedom Bus initiative. The Freedom Bus uses interactive theatre and cultural activism to bear witness, raise awareness and build alliances throughout historic Palestine and beyond. Endorsers of the Freedom Bus include Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu, Alice Walker, Angela Davis, John Berger, Judith Butler, Maya Angelou, Mairead Maguire, Mazin Qumsiyeh, Noam Chomsky, Omar Barghouti, Remi Kanazi and Peter Brook. A range of other Palestinian and International artists, activists, academics and organizations have endorsed the Freedom Bus.

Email: freedombus@thefreedomtheatre.org
Web: www.freedombus.ps
Blog: freedombuspalestine.wordpress.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thefreedombus
Twitter: twitter.com/#!/FreedomBusPal

London Palestine Film Festival highlights the works of around 40 Palestinian and international directors – May 3rd to 15th

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Source The Prisma 

London will get closer to Palestine from the 3rd to 15th of May thanks to the view of the Arab-Israeli conflict to be shown in the works of around 40 Palestinian and international directors taking part in the 14th season of this festival.

Through 38 films and more than 20 events, Londoners will have the opportunity to see the oppression that the Palestinian public are subjected to as well as the heterogeneity that can be seen within the country, through the various practices, genres and screenplays. Palestine’s representation of self is promoted through cinematic titles, from conceptual and experimental focuses of artistic innovation to realistic cinema about socio-political wars and social activism. In other words, they are tools to help society better understand life in Palestine and on the Gaza Strip.

Palestina Septimo 7The film screenings and other activities will be taking place in the Barbican cinema and at the University of London, where the lecture entitled“Palestine and the Moving Image” will be held.

Organised in collaboration with the Centre for Palestine Studies, part of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), the event will bring together academics, film makers and film critics to tackle the broad range of aspects related to film, or by extension, to Palestine.

This festival, pioneering in the UK, will disucss the historical, ethical and social aspects which envelop Palestinian life, as well as the aesthetics and subject matter of the films.

Palestina Septimo 8The festival will begin on 3rd May with the screening of the film Life in occupied Palestine(1981), directed by David Koff long before the first uprising.

The feature film, through interviews and a notable process of historical documentation, is a profound portrait of the conflict which breaks out daily in Palestine and Israel and which shows how the Palestinian resistance is generalised and on the rise. The programme also includes the 25thAnniversary of the first uprising and will show Elia Suleiman’s first film, Homage by Assassination(Part of 1991 portmanteau The Gulf War … What Next?).

Palestina Septimo 4More than 20 films will premiere at this year’s festival including a documentary about life in the Syrian Golan Heights; Apples of the Golan, an impressive portrait of the importance of the comet on the Gaza Strip; Flying Paper, as well as some of the new film shorts about Palestine and beyond.

The festival will run from 3rd to 15th May at the Barbican Cinema and at the University of London.

For more information please visit:http://www.palestinefilm.org

(Translated by Frances Singer – Email: francessingerriveros@hotmail.com)

Defying all odds, the first Palestinian Circus School flourishes

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By Henrique Dores – April 24, 2013

Palestine Monitor

Roll up, roll up – ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friends and foes – please put your hands together and give your warm welcome to the unparalleled, the outstanding, the one and only Palestinian Circus School.

This could perfectly be the opening line of one of the shows of the Palestinian Circus School. Currently submerged in an ambience of red noses, big shoes, squeaky flowers, stilts and many other props, the Palestinian Circus School (PCS) began as a small circus group in August 2006 thanks to the determination of Shadi Zmorrod and Jessika Devlieghere, who initiated the pathway to introduce circus arts from Palestinians for Palestinians, amidst Israeli checkpoints and M-16 rifles.

The whole idea of creating the first circus school in Palestine was to provide an effective alternative to the massive effects that the Israeli military occupation has had over the lives of young Palestinians, particularly since 2000.

The stories of unlawfully demolished homes, personal humiliations at checkpoints, physical abuses and arbitrary detentions, together with accumulated grief of having loved ones killed by the Israeli military, constituted the sole motivation of the initial core group of the founders of the Palestinian Circus School. To them, too many young people were turning to the streets for an outlet, struggling to achieve nothing else than survival.

However, before becoming one of the most credited and successful Palestinian NGO’s, there were some bumps on the road. From the very beginning, the idea of creating a Palestinian circus school raised suspicions about its necessity. However, the general skepticism did not affect the initial core group.

Shadi Zmorrod was given the opportunity by the Belgian circus school ‘Cirkus in Beweging’ to start with a first intensive training course for young people living behind the Apartheid Wall. Further contacts were made in order to ensure training for the people who would be involved in creating the future circus of Palestine, through an intensive three-week workshop. The excitement about these first achievements can only be compared with the disappointment that took over the group when this first initiative was cancelled due to the outbreak of the Israeli-Lebanese war in 2006.

“We are engaged in showing our progresses in more places, and we are trying to start touring in many other places, like the south of Europe, where circus is still very alive”

Nevertheless, the resilient group persisted on the foundation of the PCS, and despite the lack of financial support, they managed to obtain the required training throughout the help of some Jerusalem circus students and later on, after launching an international appeal, from Italy, France and US circus professionals. This was the definitive step towards the birth of the first Palestinian Circus School, which would culminate with its premiere in Ashtar Theater, where an encouraging audience of 250 people applauded their effort.

Progresses and ambitions

The new premises of the school, which only became PCS’s home in November 2011, are inspiring. Located next to the Latin Church in the old city of Birzeit, the building and site was given for a period of 15 years free of charge by Dr. Hanna Nasir to allow PCS to develop to its full potential.

“When we first saw this place, we thought it was desperately needing some work, but also that it was the perfect place for the school,” says Jessica Devlieghere.

Indeed, the PCS has been constantly developing, and the two small circus training halls existing in the building brought the school to heights impossible to reach under the previous conditions. Currently teaching three levels of education in the art of circus (beginners, preparatory and professional), the Palestinian Circus School provides annual summer camps and open days in order to allow communities to get more acquainted with the goals and the approach of the school. Moreover, since its foundation, not only was PCS able to tour all around Palestine, defying checkpoints, borders and other movement restrictions, but also performed in Belgium, France, Germany and Italy.

When asked about the current projects of PCS, Jessica promptly replies, “I don’t like to use that terminology. We want PCS to stay away from the whole NGO’s way of thinking. This is an initiative from Palestinians to Palestinians and everything we do has a social impact.”

The merits of PCS are easy to identify. Operating in difficult scenarios such as Jenin, Al-Fawwar refugee camp, Birzeit or Hebron, the school has been distributing hope all around Palestine.

“At the moment we have more than 150 students,” Jessica says. “We present circus as a form of therapy, as an alternative to the hopeless lives of many youngsters.”

PCS has also been working together with Social Rehabilitation Center in Jenin, where they try to improve the lives of young women.

But the vision of the adventurers that made possible PCS is bigger than ever.

“We are trying to extend our field of action, so that more people have access to our initiatives,” Jessica explains. “We are engaged in showing our progresses in more places, and we are trying to start touring in many other places, like the south of Europe, where circus is still very alive. Another of our immediate goals is to provide a real circus tent on the courtyard, to allow the many disciplines needing lots of height and space.”

The Palestinian Circus School is flying higher than never, and the people involved are committed in keeping the same enthusiasm they had in making this project come alive. In a sea of disappointment, where bombs and aggression are the language used, the Palestinian Circus School emerges as a safe port to everyone willing to resist occupation with a smile on the face.

 

AlJazeera: Palestinians celebrate festival of dance

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Away from the factional politics and the tensions, residents of the West Bank have been celebrating on the streets.

The second international dance festival in Ramallah has provided Palestinians with a rare chance to dance their woes away.

Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh reports.

More from: Aljazeera English

Rana Baker responds to Dawber’s article in The Independent: Misconceptions Abound On Gaza’s Women, Politics

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By: Rana Baker for Al-Monitor Palestine Pulse

Posted on April 25.

It has become commonplace when reading about Gaza to come across descriptions of it as an “Islamist enclave” or “Hamas-controlled territory” and so on. In case someone exists who does not know what Hamas is all about, commentators make sure their readers understand that it is the “fundamentalist” group bent on the “destruction of Israel” and nothing else.

The Palestinians of Gaza, therefore, are often categorized as either ardent Hamas supporters or suppressed dissidents, including women, who receive the severest treatment imaginable, not only from the Hamas government, but also from misogynistic and backward average male residents. Such categorizations are then followed by sweeping generalizations about each of these stereotypes. Whereas the Hamas supporters consist of “terrorists” and “bloodthirsty barbarians,” the dissents are seen as peace-loving minorities who seek neighborly relations with Israel, the occupying entity.

A recent example of such portrayals can be found in a feature story published in The Independent on April 13. In “Tales from Gaza: What Is Life Really Like in ‘the World’s Largest Outdoor Prison’?” the author alledges to provides “a small snapshot into life in Gaza.” Before he proceeds, however, he assures us that what follows are “testimonies” by people “who can rarely get their voices heard.”

At the start of six interviews, the author makes clear that all of those featured are men not because that was his intention — he is a Westerner who believes in gender equality after all — but because in his two and a half days in Gaza, he could not find a woman willing to speak to him “independently.” In fact, the only occasion when he had the chance to speak to a woman, he tells us, was in the presence of a male guardian, the woman’s husband in this particular instance. Hence, while he was able to “give voice” to men, his attempts to do the same for women were all thwarted.

Such assertions play into Orientalist notions. This usually results from foreign journalists coming to Gaza with a set of preconceptions about the place and its people and then seeking to confirm them rather than verify them. While Gaza is, indeed, no haven for women or anyone else, there are thousands of educated women who are willing to speak for themselves and do so in every field, from medicine, theater, and politics to fishing and farming.

Just a few months ago, a play written by the renowned Palestinian writer Samah Sabawi was read at one of Gaza’s cultural centers, which continue to thrive despite Israel’s ceaseless attempts at cultural de-development. Nearly all the participants who performed the play were women, as was the case with the vast majority of the audience. They were not accompanied by husbands, brothers or fathers in order to attend or to perform.

Events like this, however, hardly ever make it into the mainstream media. Moreover, any mention of a considerable number of women going out without a hijab instantly provokes expressions of surprise by those who have only heard about Gaza through mainstream and particularly Western publications. To say women in Gaza are also allowed to drive would sound like a lie to many ears.

Women are not the only part of this story. To claim that Gaza is “Islamist” automatically dismisses the existence of the leftist and secular groups there, most of which denounce religion in its totality. Homogenizing “life in Gaza” could not be more obvious than in The Independent feature.

Of the six interviews the author conducted, one was with a Hamas official, while four were with blue-collar male workers, and the remaining one was with an unemployed man. Despite being at odds with Israel, five of them belong to the category of “ready to forget the past,” has no problem inviting former Israel prime minister Ariel Sharon for coffee, and even views Yitzhak Rabin — the man behind the Iron Fist that broke hundreds of bone in the lead up to and during the first Palestinian intifada — as a man of peace.

With the exception of the Hamas official, the interviewees followed suit in reiterating the same unconditional desire to achieve peace with Israel that one might think no other viewpoint existed. At the same time, they viewed Hamas as the primary source of their distress. Israel was seen as only secondary to their everyday ordeal.

That no evidence was provided to challenge the views in question suggests that there is none — just as the author claims to have found no women able to speak to him. Thus, portraying the residents of Gaza as a homogenous people who all experience life in the same way is condescending at best and Orientalist at worst. The views expressed in the article are undeniably extant but do not reflect the reality.

Israel, which has launched two deadly assaults on Gaza in less than five years, is rarely perceived as a friendly entity. The vast majority of the politicized and non-politicized segments of Gazan society are not ready to “forget the past” that continues to shape the lives of 1.1 million local Palestinians officially registered as refugees at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Rana Baker is a student of business administration in Gaza and writes for the Electronic Intifada

This article appeared here: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/04/gaza-misconceptions-women.html#ixzz2RVnXaJdB

Showcasing Palestinian composer and musician Simon Shaheen

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From The Province written by Stuart Derdeyn on April 23, 2013

Since arriving in New York City in 1980, Palestinian composer and musician Simon Shaheen has been instrumental in the development of Arabic music across North America.

A master of the Arabic lute known as the oud, the 58-year-old Catholic born in Tarshiha, Upper Galilee, Israel, grew up in a musical dynasty with father and siblings all actively teaching and performing.

He is a professor at Columbia University music school and his students are everywhere bringing Arabic music into jazz, rock, pop and traditional music.

His latest show is presented in partnership with the MOA exhibit Safar/Voyage: Contemporary Works by Arab, Iranian and Turkish Artists.

Titled The Call: Songs of Liberation, it takes folk songs from the turbulent 1950s and 1960s era that have been revived as anthems of movements in the Arab Spring and mixes them in with his own adventurous traditional/jazz compositions.

“Beginning about two-and-a-half years ago, when people began to take the initiative to live with pride, dignity and freedom in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and elsewhere, there was a revival of this amazing music from the ’50s and ’60s post-colonial era that sounded like it was written yesterday,” Shaheen said.

“It was almost as if the era had been forgotten in the face of modern pop, but then it came back and I took it upon myself to research songs that came from these places and tour with it.”

Shaheen and his group took the show on the road in 2011 to great response. He was inspired to compose an accompanying piece titled The Call following a show at the Metropolitan Museum, where a statue was unveiled.

“This statue just became a metaphor for the Arab world at the time, somewhat stagnant and unmoving. But, I thought, if I played enough music, that it would start to dance and come to life like so many of these places were. So I composed a piece and then took it to dancer Cassandra Shore to choreograph.”

The local performance includes bass, flute, percussion, violin and oud with solo dance. It is unlike anything the composer has done before and he hopes to record the results later this year. He said that it feels right to move from tradition into something contemporary and reflective of changing times in the Middle East.

Read more from this article here including added details regarding his upcoming show.  Get a taste of his music in this video below.

 

 

TED Video Suheir Hammad: Poems of war, peace, women, power

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TED Ideas Worth Spreading

Poet Suheir Hammad performs two spine-tingling spoken-word pieces: “What I Will” and “break (clustered)” — meditations on war and peace, on women and power. Wait for the astonishing line: “Do not fear what has blown up. If you must, fear the unexploded.”

In her poems and plays, Suheir Hammad blends the stories and sounds of her Palestinian-American heritage with the vibrant language of Brooklyn to create a passionately modern voice. Full bio »

Boston Event: World-renowned Palestinian artist Samia Halaby presents ‘The Art of Palestine’ on April 27, 2013

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The Boston Palestine Film Festival announces that world-renowned Palestinian artist Samia Halaby will give a presentation entitled The Art of Palestine on April 27, 2013.  For information visit Boston Palestine Film Festival.

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Why song performed by Palestinian Arab Idol struck a chord with millions of viewers – English translation of lyrics included

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In the song that qualified him for the Arab Idol competition, Palestinian singer Muhammad Assaf  from Gaza city sang ‘ya tair altayer’ flying bird.  This national song struck a chord with Palestinians and Arabs everywhere and the original video clip from the Arab Idol competition has gone viral with over a million viewers.  A new clip has just been posted on youtube with images of the Palestinian cities Assaf sang for (see new video below).  Assaf told reporters that he sees no line between his art and being patriotic.  He is right.  His song expresses a Palestinian wish for freedom and for the ability to see loved ones in other villages that are now no longer accessible.  It is a reminder that even though Palestinians are confined within their bantustans and behind Israel’s big walls and towers, they haven’t given up on the dream that one day they too will fly like a bird and see their homes,  villages and loved ones.

Oh flying bird

Going to my home

My eyes follow you

And God’s eyes protect you

Oh you traveller

I am so jealous

Palestine my homeland

She is beautiful praise be to God

Go by Safed

Go by Tabariyyah

Pass by Acre and Haifa

And say hello to the sea

Don’t forget Nazareth

This Arab fortress

And give Bisan the good news

Her people will return

My people on this land

Stood tall

History is proud of us

And history’s back was bent

From all the pain we suffered

But we are patient

Go to Gaza

And Kiss its soil

Her people are dignified

Her men are mighty

And go to Jerusalem

The capital

Al Aqsa its landmark

Inshallah God willing

We will gather there

Oh flying bird

Going to my home

My eyes follow you

And God’s eyes protect you

Oh you traveller

I am so jealous

Palestine my homeland

She is beautiful

Praise be to God

Ma’an: Palestinian Arab Idol finalist says Issawi an inspiration

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Published today (updated) 22/04/2013 21:09
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Muhammad Assaf, a Palestinian finalist in the TV singing contest Arab Idol, says he is inspired by long-term hunger striker Samer Issawi and would trade winning the competition for the prisoner’s freedom.

“I am conveying Palestine’s message to the world, and if I had to choose between winning the Arab Idol title and the freedom of Samer Issawi, I would choose freedom for the Palestinian hero whose steadfastness is peerless and I can’t compare myself to it,” Assaf told Ma’an.

Speaking from Beirut, the singer from Gaza City said that he considers himself an “ambassador of Palestinian art,” who wants to convey a positive image of Palestinians, despite Israeli occupation and oppression.

Arab audiences are happy to see a Palestinian singing different genres of music rather than just patriotic songs, he said, adding that he has been receiving support from his fans in the Arab world.

Assaf says he has been moved by the plight of Palestinian prisoners, especially Samer Issawi who has been on hunger strike in Israeli detention for 265 days.

“Issawi has provided a model in the struggle which is too great to be imitated by artists, despite the fact that art has an element of resistance as it can deliver the message of a people under occupation to the whole world.”

“I can’t differentiate between my art and my patriotic attitude,” he added.

Assaf qualified on Friday for the final of MBC’s popular singing competition Arab Idol.

This article appeared in Ma’an News

Palestine on Screen—Why You Must See “Inch’Allah”

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By SCOTT MCCONNELL • April 15, 2013, 12:24 PM

The American Conservative 

“Inch’Allah,” Anais Barbeau-Lavalette’s feature about Israel-Palestine, may be the strongest effort yet to convey the emotions of the supercharged struggle over land and dignity in the present period. For nearly a half-century, those who wanted justice in Palestine hoped that some representation of their narrative could reach the screen. They lived in the shadow, of course, of the epochal power of  “Exodus,” probably the most effective propaganda film in world history.  A great many years ago I recall Andrew Sarris telling a Columbia film class that the Palestinians were enthused when Jean-Luc Godard got funding to make a movie about their struggle, but were disappointed by the results.  What they had in mind was something like a modern western, with the fedayeen in the role of heroic good guys, a project which was never really in the French auteur’s wheelhouse.

Numerous films have sought to convey  something of the moral ambiguity of the struggle, including Steven Spielberg’s “Munich.” I haven’t seen Julian Schnabel’s “Miral,” based on the novel/memoir by Rula Jabreal, the story of an orphanage for Palestinian  girls whose parents were killed at Deir Yassin.  Many had high hopes for the film, perhaps because of the widely acknowledged talent, warmth, and celebrity of Schnabel, but for one reason or another the movie never really took off.

“Inch’Allah” can’t boast the star power of Jean-Luc Godard or Julian Schnabel; its director, Barbeau-Lavalette, is young and highly regarded in the Quebec film world, but not any sort of household name. But her movie deserves the hopes and access to screens granted to “Miral,” and more. It is a tough, gritty, and intense portrayal of Palestinian life under the occupation and the moral dilemmas faced by those—like the Canadian doctor played by the gorgeous Evelyne Brochu—who get involved trying to help them. The Palestinians, three generations ago a rural and pacific people, have been ghettoized and hardened. More than any movie I’ve seen, “Inch’Allah” conveys the something of the feel of Palestinian life, sarcastic and bitter in the younger generations, old-fashioned in the older ones, trying cope under a system of domination and control far more sophisticated than anything South Africans could dream up.  Read more 

Palestinian singer from Gaza qualifies for Arab Idol final

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Palestinian singer from Gaza city Muhammad Assaf is one of 12 Arab singers who have made it into the final round of MBC’s popular singing competition Arab Idol performing the Palestinian song ‘Ya Teir el-Tayir’, ‘Oh Flying Bird’. Video of his performance  (below) has gone viral with over one million viewers.

A Museum for Palestine

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lucyrees's avatarLucy Rees Art

On March 20, the Welfare Association, a not-for-profit organization that provides development and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians, held an evening event to introduce the Palestinian Museum to the arts community and international press who were in Dubai for the annual Art Dubai fair. Hosted by the chairman of the Palestinian Museum Task Force, Omar Al-Qattan, and the museum director, Jack Persekian, the reception revealed the museum’s ambitions and plans for construction beginning in April 2013.

The building, designed by the Dublin-based architects Heneghan Peng – who also designed the new Grand Museum of Egypt in Cairo – is a modern structure inspired by the terraces of Birzeit. To be constructed in two phases, the first phase of 3000 square metres will cost approximately $11 million and be completed by 2014. The second phase to be completed within 10 years will expand the museum to 9000 square metres.

Lucy Rees: How…

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Seductively swaying Carmen the Gypsy Danced to a Palestinian Orchestra in Bethlehem

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“With our music we represent Palestine. We say out loud the name of the country that many decided to deny its existence. The world thinks we don’t love life, but we do. We love life, music and we serve our country with our instruments.”

By: Malak Hasan

Palestine News & Information Agency – WAFA

BETHLEHEM, April 18, 2013 (WAFA) – Seductively swaying in her red dress wrapped around her slender body and rather dark hair carelessly resting on her pale shoulders, Carmen the Spanish gypsy emerged from Georges Bizet’s 1875 Opera Carmen to dance and sing about love accompanied by the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music (ESNCM) orchestra performed in the city of Bethlehem on Saturday.

Once the music began, the audience was captivated in the melodies of the violin, cello, flute, bass and drums played by young Palestinian and international musicians, and the Swiss singers whose voices brought closer the burning story of Carmen and her jealous lover, Don Jose.

Religion, country of origin, or language, all didn’t matter as the audience who was watching Opera Carmen only came for one reason: to witness the power of music in bringing together two different worlds and cultures on one stage.

With the Palestinian red and white kuffiya, the national scarf and head cover, resting on the shoulders of the Swiss St Michel Choir and the black kuffiya on the shoulders of some Palestinian musicians, the act was not only a celebration of the western and eastern harmony, art and music, but an expression of resistance and solidarity with Palestine.

While Carmen sang with her velvety voice, director and choir conductor, Philippe Savoy, explained, his enthusiasm evident, “We chose the red and white scarf because it carries the colors of the Swiss flag.”

The story of Carmen, which was originally written in French, doesn’t relate to the Palestinian people in the sense of the word. It is the story of a young Spanish woman who works in a cigar factory and dies at the hands of her rejected lover.

 Academic director of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, Michele Cantoni, who looked very calm yet eager before the performance, said “the significance of the act is to mainly show the quality of playing, teaching and talents here in Palestine.”

It wasn’t only to present the unique potentials of the young Palestinian musicians who try to live a normal life in abnormal conditions but also, says Cantoni, “to show this picture to those abroad who think Palestinians are different than any other people whereas they have the same kind of humanity, sensitivity and the same kind of capability, but unfortunately a certain kind of propaganda convinced the world that this is not the case.”

It is not always that an opera is performed in Palestine and this is exactly why such an act was well received. Even though the story and the language were foreign, it didn’t stop the audience at the Solomon Pools’ Convention Center from enjoying the fine act.

Nadin Baboun, a violinist with the ESNCM orchestra, said: “Everyone understands the language of the music. You don’t have to be a musician to sense the love, suspense, romance and drama.”

She explained, “With our music we represent Palestine. We say out loud the name of the country that many decided to deny its existence. The world thinks we don’t love life, but we do. We love life, music and we serve our country with our instruments.”

With words sang in broken Arabic, the St Michel choir closed their performance singing “Hadi Ard Jdudi… Filistinu, Filistinu” (This is the land of my ancestors… Palestine, Palestine); asserting in their own artistic way the Palestinian people’s right to live in their homeland and the land of their ancestors.

M.H./M.S.

This article first appeared here 

Palestinian-American composer and conductor George Bisharat and the Oakland East Bay Symphony in “Ya Way Li”

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IMEU, APR 17, 2013 

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The exile, fear and frustration of Palestinians expelled from their homeland will be brought to life through John Bisharat’s composed autobiography “Ya Way Li.” The piece, which is debuting April 20 with the Oakland East Bay Symphony in California, is part of the program, “Notes from the Middle East,” which brings together viewpoints of Palestinians, Egyptians and Israelis through music.

According to Bisharat, a Palestinian-American composer and conductor, “The piece tells the story of the fear and heartbreak my father, uncles and aunt endured during their struggle of being expelled from their homeland.” Bisharat’s uncle Emile wrote the poem “Ya Way Li” in Arabic and Bisharat composed the music with singers, percussionists and instrumentalists. “The text specifically reveals the Palestinian perspective. One of the lines is ‘and here I am a stranger in exile with no hope of ever returning to my origin,'” explains Bisharat. “This speaks to the issues of the right to return and the military occupation.”

The zourna, a woodwind instrument that plays three notes, is featured in the piece and was used by Bisharat’s father and uncles to gather their children. “It was a calling together of the family. It’s a personal note, and I decided to start and end the piece with it. It’s kind of the bookends to the piece.”

In addition to the instruments used in this piece, foot-stomping is also incorporated. The entire orchestra stomps their feet in unison to symbolize the frustration of the Palestinians. “There’s so much frustration, resentment and fear in the piece. It’s kind of a dark piece because it’s not a happy situation by any means. But it speaks to the fear and insecurity faced by Palestinian families, including my own.”

Bisharat created this music specifically for the program. He has written other Arabic music and enjoys working with other composers and musicians. “I love the idea of someone else improvising in a framework I have worked out as a composer and leaving a slot open for improvisation. You’ll also end up with something that is bigger and greater than what you would be able to do as your own. These musicians are bringing their own life experiences in every note they play.”

Born in Los Angeles, Bisharat’s mother introduced him to music. He attended UCLA’s Professional Designation in Film Scoring program and graduated in 1986, and has been making music ever since.

Bisharat has conducted The London Symphony Orchestra and The National Symphony Orchestra, among other international engagements.

Bisharat derives from a musically savvy family. Several of his family members are different types of artists. His brother and sister are both professional musicians and one of his uncles, aside from being a psychiatrist, was a violin crafter and another uncle played the flute. Bisharat’s wife is world-renowned concert pianist Louise Thomas. “I was lucky, I guess, to be born into a family of such talented, educated and artistic people, very warm and loving people.”

Read this article and much more on The Institute for Middle East Understanding website which offers journalists and editors quick access to information about Palestine and the Palestinians, as well as expert sources — both in the U.S. and in the Middle East. Read the IMEU Background Briefings. Contact IMEU for story assistance. Sign up for IMEU e-briefings.

Resilience and Light: Contemporary Palestinian Art

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New Gaza Documentary Flying Paper captures children’s creative resilience through the kite culture

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April 15, 2013
Gaza beach kite record @Eman Mohamed

 

A new documentary, “Flying Paper,” takes us on a cinematic journey into the kite culture among Palestinian youth in the Gaza Strip, and their quest to shatter the Guinness World Record for the most kites ever flown.

The film will be shown at Athens International Film Festival in Ohio starting this week [Editor’s note: the article was originally published before the Festival took place. The Athens International Film and Video Festival took place between April 12 and April 18 2013].

Flying Paper tells the uplifting story of Palestinian youth in Gaza in the run-up to the world record-breaking event, showcasing the creative resilience of youth making and flying kites despite the hardship in their lives.

The feature-length documentary film was directed by Nitin Sawhney and Roger Hill, and co-produced with a team of young filmmakers in Gaza. Told through the lens of a handful of children from Jabaliya refugee camp and Seifa village, the film seeks to convey a unique, compelling narrative of life from a place that is very often misrepresented in the mainstream media.

Co-directors of Flying Paper and key members of the production team discussed the film.

Back in 2006, Nitin Sawhney, Assistant Professor of Media Studies at New School for Public Engagement, co-founded the media initiative Voices Beyond Walls (VBW) to run digital storytelling workshops with Palestinian youth in refugee camps, in the West Bank. French freelance photographer Anne Paq joined VBW in 2008. In winter 2009, Sawhney met US documentary filmmaker Roger Hill. They both wanted to shoot a film in Gaza, different in style to most documentaries on Palestine. The subject remained to be determined.

After a first trip to Gaza, Sawhney went back in summer 2010 to set up VBW youth media program in Jabaliya camp. Hill joined him as a trainer, and Paq came later to follow up with the program participants.

Sawhney and Hill felt it was necessary to produce a documentary-length film that would reach wider audiences. They had heard about a forthcoming kite festival, organized by the UN. The Guinness record-breaking attempt seemed to be an ideal cinematic story.

At the end of the youth media program, Sawhney challenged the best trainees: “If you’re really good, I want you to work with me and Roger on a new film project.” They signed on right away. Nearly a dozen youths aged 12-16 moved on to the production set, filming footage across Gaza and documenting the record-breaking festival.

The two central settings of the film are Jabaliya camp and Seifa village. Seifa sits close to Gaza’s northern border with Israel, inside the “buffer zone,” a military no-go area with watchtowers and shooting spots just meters away. Jabaliya, with the largest refugee camp in Gaza, is very densely populated.

To fill in the back-story, Sawhney and Hill looked for good kite makers as potential characters profiling the youth before, during and after the Guinness Record attempt. With the help of the UN, they found a family in Seifa.

Kite maker Musa, young charismatic leader, and his sister Widad, witty and sarcastic, are primary characters. The grandfather, Abu Ziad, village governor, also appears in the film to highlight the connection between his generation and the youth through the kite making tradition. Abeer, 19, leader among the young graduates from VBW program, is narrator and co-producer. “I enjoyed playing both roles,” she says. “I wanted to do make an impact through this film.’’

Abeer was fully involved in the making of Flying Paper, providing contextual information, conducting interviews, filming, giving feedback. “Abeer really helped to carry the film along. She has been vital on camera and behind the scenes,” Hill observes.

Paq, co-producer and photographer, worked with Abeer developing a voice narration, shooting additional segments with her and about daily life in Gaza. Based in the West Bank and often travelling to Gaza, Paq organized film showings, contributed with regular feedback, and facilitated sharing feedback from the Palestinian youth.

Video editor Ahmed Elabd and Emmy award winning editor Rafael Parra took Flying Paper through its final cut. World-acclaimed composer Nitin Sawhney, based in London, contributed with original music throughout the film. Animator Daniel Nienhuis produced animated sequences in the film.

Uzma Hasan, London-based independent producer, came on board last September. Hasan joined to help the film crew to raise finishing funds for completion, and get the film out to wide audiences worldwide.

According to Sawhney, this film is important because it’s purely told through children’s voices. “Those kids live under threat, yet they’re the most hilarious, charming kids you’ll ever meet,’’ the co-director adds.

For Hill, making the film in the voice of Gazan youth was crucial. “I valued the fresh perspective, energy and creativity that the youth brought,” he points out.

Similarly, Paq underlines the films doesn’t have experts talking with the children, or instead of them. “The voices of the youth aren’t taken away; it’s them talking to the camera,” she hints.

Far from being ignored in the film, the general situation in Gaza serves as background for the story. “The film shows many positive things about Gaza, but doesn’t remove the bigger picture,” the photographer clarifies.

The tone of Flying Paper is playful and uplifting. “For a documentary coming out of Gaza, the fact that it keeps you laughing, and breaks your heart, is amazing,” Sawhney notes. Hill thoroughly enjoyed telling a small story within the larger social-political context, with the intention to attract larger audiences who can learn about life in Gaza through the story.

Paq thinks a serious, heavy documentary doesn’t quite reach the public. “If you have a story offering a different dimension, you can touch people in a much stronger way,’’ she argues. Hasan shares similar thoughts. “This film throws a different line on a very over-politicized situation,” she says. “Its essence is incredibly simple, beautiful, and universal.”

Flying Paper captures children’s creative resilience through the kite culture. Sawhney believes the poetics of kites is an easily accessible metaphor for Gazan children. A struggle, in the act of making, and a sense of freedom, in the act of flying.

On the day of the kite festival, children turned up on the beach, ready to fly over 7,000 kites at once. “All those kids looking happy and proud of their achievement send a powerful message to the world,” Paq reflects. Among the many beautiful scenes, Paq points to one where Musa finds his kite broken, and repairs it. “It’s a strong metaphor for life in Gaza, where Palestinians rebuild their lives again,” she says.

Flying Paper was very well perceived in the local communities where it was filmed. “People welcomed a story that isn’t just about their suffering. There’s life, culture, community, love,’’ Hill emphasizes.

Jabaliya camp and Seifa were heavily bombed during Operation Pillar of Defense, last November. Paq was in Gaza to film more shots with Abeer for the final scenes. During the war, Paq shot some new footage. After careful discussion, the co-directors decided not to include the new material in the film, not to alter its narrative.

After three years in the making, Flying Paper was completed at the end of last year. The filmmakers successfully raised $28,956 from 286 backers via Kickstarter for completion of the final cut. Additional funding was secured through small grants and tax-deductible donations.

Private screenings were held in the US last year, and a showing was organized in Seifa, last February. Flying Paper has so far been accepted for screening at the Athens International Film Festival in Ohio (12th-18th April) and atLondon Palestine Film Festival on the 7th of May.

Abeer invites everyone to watch Flying Paper: “We wanted to show the truth in a simple way, through a small story.’’

‘’I hope the film sends a humanizing message that children in Gaza are like all children in the world,” says Hill.

 This article was originally published on the website progressive.org on April 8th 2013 and was retrieved from EMAJ magazine 
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Gaza film Condom Lead first Palestinian short to enter competition for Cannes Film Festival

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A Palestinian film has for the first time made it into this year’s competition for the Cannes Film Festival.  The film Condom Lead is created by Identical Gaza twins Tarzan and Arab.  The pair are known for their creative and unique styles.

 “Condom Lead is a short, enigmatic parable about what it means to be human in a time of war. It is a story that could happen anywhere – anywhere there is, ever has been, or ever will be war; anywhere there is a man and a woman and a room. An intense, darkly comic study of what becomes of ordinary passions between a man and his wife in the long interstices of war’s heightened reality, Condom Lead is a story about sexual frustration on the edge of time’s knife and in the crosshairs of war’s guns, a dream of the hope for intimacy and love in a brutal, divisive world.”

Palestinians perform Carmen with Swiss choir

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Monday, 15 April 2013

Reuters – published on AlArabiya

Palestinian musicians from the West Bank collaborated with a Swiss choir to perform George Bizet’s renowned opera, Carmen.

The concert took place in Bethlehem’s Convention Palace.

Playing alongside musicians from the The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music (ESNCM) Orchestra were members of the Palestinian Youth Orchestra, made up of Palestinian students aged between the ages of 12 and 19 who live in the West Bank.

The young musicians are taught by Palestinian, European and American musicians.

Director of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, Jalil Elias, said the event showed just how talented the young musicians are.

“This is a very unique event for the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music because it needs very qualified people to work on it, particularly as it is the opera of Carmen. Our students and teachers worked with this organization to ensure the success of this event which is the first of its kind to happen in Palestine. With this high performance we have proved that Palestinians are highly qualified and are able to do such an event in our country,” said Elias.

Set in the Spanish city of Seville in the 19th century, the opera tells the tale of a passionate love story between Carmen, the fiery Spanish gypsy girl who seduces Don José, a naïve soldier who goes mad with love with tragic consequences for them both.

The young musicians taking part in the show said they were delighted to be a part of such a performance.

“This is a professional orchestra and today we will play with opera singers from Switzerland, who are famous and who sing opera in a unique way. As Palestinians playing with these people it makes us very happy and has touched and changed us,” said Lamar Jaleel, who plays the violin.

The St. Michel Choir is made up of singers between the ages of 16 and 25 years from Fribourg, the capital city of the Sarine district.

Friboug is a medieval town that sits on the cultural border between the German and French speaking parts of Switzerland.

Colombian pianist and conductor Juan David Molano has been the ESNCM’s Principal Conductor since his appointment in 2011.

“I can relate that perfectly with the situation in Palestine. They are just [too] oppressed to flourish their cultural capacities and I think this is the occasion for them to look outside this oppression and this gives them more strength in character and they are really having the benefit of all this,” said Molano, who conducted the orchestra.

The ESNCM works in partnership with the Fondation les Instruments de la Paix (Switzerland) and the Geneva Conservatoire, where Molano is also a professor of piano.

Local residents filled the auditorium seats and concert-goers expressed their joy at witnessing the progress of their young Palestinian musicians.

“The performance is really amazing and the participation of Palestinian youths with an international opera from a country like Switzerland prove that the Palestinian youths are excelling in their musical abilities and are representing Palestine to the world. Being able to play with this opera means that they have reached a very good level,” said one concert attendee, Maha Jabeer, from Bethlehem.

The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music was set up in 1993 after five Palestinian musicians and music teachers carried out a study on the status of music in Palestine in 1990 and found a huge lack of musical education in Palestinian society.

This article appeared on  AlArabiya