The 6th edition of the El Gouna Film Festival, which took place from December 14 to 21, 2023, marked a particular turning point by devoting its support to Palestine, plunged into a devastating war with Israel.
Various activities were organized, including the screening of Palestinian films as part of the “program” Palestine window And panels dedicated to this subject. After the initial panel on ” Camera in crisis: a goal on Palestine“, Festival -goers had the opportunity to attend another panel entitled” Traffic and mobilization: what can independent cinemas do in times of crisis? ” ».
Initially planned to approach independent cinema and art and test rooms during the published edition last October, the subject of the panel was adjusted due to the current war in Gaza, thus aligning the theme on the special edition devoted to Palestine.
This panel was organized in partnership with the Network of Arab Art and Essay Screens (NAAS). The panelists include the Palestinian filmmaker May Odeh, the Egyptian producer Fatma Abed, the distributor and founder of the Tunisian cinema Kaied Zaied, as well as the program director at Sudan Film Factory, Elaf Elkanzy. The moderator, Nada Bakr, is the director of the Naas network in Egypt.
May Odeh, coordinator of the “window on Palestine” program between the Palestine Film Institute and the El Gouna film festival, began the session with a minute of silence in tribute to the Palestinian victims of the war.
The Palestine Film Institut, created in 2017/2018 by a group of Palestinian filmmakers, aims to give a face to the Palestinians, thus thwarting the negative narrative which affirmed that Palestine did not exist and that these people had no identity.
May Odeh explains: ” In 2017/2018, we, a group of Palestinian filmmakers, noted the absence of a film institution bringing us together, especially due to the dispersal of the Palestinians in the world. Our archives were destroyed, many former films have been lost. We have therefore formed this institute, the headquarters of which are online. This allows us to broadcast our films, both in theaters, or even online. For example every Wednesday, and for a week, we make a Palestinian film available to the public for free. In addition, we try to involve our films in festivals and make them known in the world ».
ILAF Elkanzy, cultural advisor to Sudan Film Factory, shared the impact of war on their work and stressed the importance of independent cinema. She explains: ” Because of the war, we lost the siege of Sudan Factory, which was in Khartoum. We are working on several axes, distribution, production aid, organization of the Sudan festival … An independent film is the one where the filmmaker creates with an artistic intention rather than commercial purposes. We have worked a lot on the independent film since 2010, on a local and international level, also approaching funding thanks to the networks ».
Kais Zaied, manager of Cinemadart, Hakka Distribution and Ecco, member of Naas, Share his experience: ” Cinemadart is a project dating from 2012. At the time, the rooms closed in Tunis, and there were no houses of house for independent cinema. We quickly encountered a problem: very few independent films available. So we created Hakka Distribution to distribute independent Tunisian and foreign films. Our goal was lucrative, but we would succeed in bringing the public back to the cinema. At the time, there were about 9 cinemas in Tunisia. Today, the situation has improved. We have developed a collaborative local network, working with schools, cultural associations, then we extended our collaboration to other rooms across the country. Naturally, we have joined Naas to expand our impact at the national and international level ».
Kais Zaied underlined the particularity of Tunisian films, both independent and profitable, in comparison with Egypt where independent films are not as prosperous. He explains: ” In Tunisia, our films are independent because we do not really have a film industry, both in terms of subjects and manufacturing. However, our Tunisian films attract a large audience. Unlike Egypt, our Tunisian films are both independent and profitable. The other foreign commercial films in Tunisia are distributed by another network, and we have therefore deliberately chosen to devote ourselves exclusively to independent foreign films ».
Fatma Abed, producer and distributor, presented the Palestine Cinema Days project and shared her vision of the independent filmmaker: “ For me, an independent filmmaker is a person who lives in a company, has ideals, causes, and wishes to share them. Palestine Cinema Days, organized by Palestine Film Lab, was to take place in Ramallah last October for 10 days. Due to the war, the edition has been postponed, but the festival was transformed into a world event. The 8 selected films were screened in 86 cities in 41 countries, totaling 141 projections on November 2. Debates have taken place in several cities, including Berlin and Paris ”.
May Odey presented the Palestine Film Platform, initiated during the confinement due to the COVVI. This platform started by broadcasting Palestinian films for free online every Wednesday. After October 7, confronted with the invasive Israeli narrative, officials reacted quickly by contacting Palestinian filmmakers and widening the broadcast of their films. The success was dazzling, with requests for projections worldwide, including very distant countries such as Indonesia, countries in South America, both by distributors and by individuals seeking to raise awareness and harvest humanitarian donations for Palestinians.
May Odey highlights the importance of rethinking the commercial distribution of Palestinian films.
The NaS network also allows people from different countries to discover films that reflect common challenges and experiences. For example, the Sudan Film Factory screened many Syrian films during the war in Syria and unfortunately then it was the Sudanese who lived the same circumstances.
Naas also played an essential role in solidarity, Ilaf Elkanzy stresses that despite the differences, solidarity over the years has enabled the dissemination of films and the organization of cultural events. What was confirmed by Kais Zaied, indeed, for example, Cinemadart in Tunisia programmed, on October 20, the Palestinian film Alam (2022) Directed by Firas Khoury, for several days, and since October 28 organized “Palestine Regards”, a cycle of films around Palestine, reversing all recipes with the Tunisian red crescent to support the Palestinians of Gaza. In addition to film screenings, various solidarity activities with Palestine have been organized, including an exhibition and the reading of Palestinian texts.
“” I am proud “Said May Odey,” Because despite our different, there are people who over the years have come to broadcast films and organize themselves by solidarity. It is obvious that it will be more and more difficult for us to make films, because we do not have the financial means and because we must fight against the adversary who wants to impose his own narrative and which has huge means. I take as a simple example of Steven Spielberg’s project about October 7. It is obvious that only the point of view of the Israelis will be devoted to it. We, Palestinians, need to propagate our own images, broadcast our own version. The public exists. We are reflecting on an initiative to collect money. We are thinking of finding a way to request the public’s financial contribution. If the public wants to see these kinds of films, he could participate in helping their manufacture ».
May Odey concluded this panel by paying tribute to the poet Refaat Alareer de Gaza, murdered for a few days and who left a poignant poem: ” If I have to die, you have to live, to tell my story ».
“” He is right, we must tell the story of the Palestinians, it is the responsibility of those who survive. It is for this reason that the initiative of the El Gouna festival has been of capital importance for us, by opening a significant door for Palestine and playing a major role in the dissemination of our images and our story. The need for the Palestinian voice reaching the whole world through such festivals is crucial ».
Neïla Driss
