The Past in the Present + Q&A 15

Presented by Migration Matters Festival in collaboration with Cinema Palestino. 'Pay what you feel' tickets will be available from our box office, or tickets can be purchased online at our suggested prices.

Three Palestinian filmmakers in different locations: Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, have worked with the Creative Interruptions Research project to explore their attempts at retracing, retrieving and reflecting the Palestinian past in the present. Filmmaker Mahasen Nasser-Eldin will be present to discuss her film.

The Silent Protest: Jerusalem 1929
Director: Mahasen Nasser-Eldin; Length: 20 mins

On 26 October 1929, Palestinian women launched their women's movement in Jerusalem. Approximately 300 women converged into the city from all over Palestine. They held a silent demonstration through a car convoy across the city in protest at the British High Commissioner's bias against Arabs in the Buraq uprising. This is their story on that day.

Jerusalem-born filmmaker Mahasen Nasser-Eldin tells stories of resistance and resilience, crafting carefully researched and scripted narratives that restore new life to forgotten figures and celebrate those on the margins of society. A meticulous researcher, Mahasen specializes in reconstructing and scripting historical narratives using audio and visual archives.

Eight Years Later
Director: Salim Abu Jabal; Length: 25 mins

In 2010 Salim Abu Jabal was a casting director for a short movie. He visited Deir Ghassana, a village close to Ramallah and ended up filming kids in the neighbourhood. On the way back he passed the village of Nabi Saleh, where the weekly non-violent Friday demonstrations were being held against the occupation.  He filmed and interviewed some of the children.  In 2018 Salim searched for the children that he had met 8 years ago to find out about their lives and their dreams, painting a powerful picture of daily life for many young people in the West Bank.

Salim Abu Jabal has worked as a journalist and film critic as well as for cinema and TV. His first feature 'Roshmia' was awarded "Special Jury Prize" at Dubai Int'l Film Festival and officially selected by IDFA 2015

Gazagraph
Director:  Yousef Nateel; Producer: Hussein Owda; Length: 40 mins

Gazagraph explores the history of photography in Gaza. Nateel gives us an insight into the ways in which Gaza was documented across the decades, from the earliest glass plate negatives to contemporary digital photography.  Travelling across Gaza City, Nateel makes contact with the owners of former studios showing us old camera equipment and archives of negatives.  Through the photography we touch on different aspects of Gaza’s past, gaining insight into past migrations through interviews with the city’s former Armenian photographers, as well as more recent work which touches on core historical events.