The Fate of Palestinian Cinema

originally published April 25, 2007

Waiting

Areen Omari and Youssef Baroud

(NR) 2005. A few weekends ago, I attended the screening of Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi’s film Waiting (Attente). A local group organizing Boston’s first-ever Palestinian Film Festival had raised the $1600 or so that it cost to get the print, and so I jumped on what could be my only opportunity to see this genuine "lost picture show."

In Waiting, Palestinian director Ahmad (Mahmoud Massad) receives long-awaited documents to leave the Gaza Strip for good. Before he leaves, he stops off to visit a friend of his deceased father, who is constructing what will become the Palestine National Theatre. As it is an EU-funded project that has been eight years in the making, Ahmad is rather doubtful that the theatre will ever come to fruition. However, as a favor, he reluctantly accepts the task of visiting the Jordanian, Syrian and Lebanese camps to audition refugees as part of the future theatre’s cast. Along with Palestinian anchor, Bissan, and a camera man whose demo reel consists of a series of massive explosions, Ahmad sets off to discover new talent.

What ensues is a misadventure that is both comic and overwhelmingly tragic. Ahmad’s apathy is matched by the refugees’ blind enthusiasm for the project and determination to have five minutes in front of the camera. Unfortunately, few are actors; they are mostly desperate exiles seizing the opportunity to send messages to lost family members in the Occupied Territories.

As the auditioning continues, the reality of the theatre becomes increasingly eminent - it’s not going to happen. In the words of one skeptical actor, “So we can have our own national theatre but not our own State?” The theatre becomes a metaphor for all other lost Palestinian projects, an unviable task surrounded by empty platitudes and incompetent trust.

Masharawi creates a touching illustration of the disenfranchised Palestinian exiles - millions of people who have spent the last 60 years waiting for food, medicine, rights, citizenship and, most importantly, their own state.

In a talk after the screening, Dr. Nadia Yaqub discussed Palestine’s malnourished arts and film industries - tragic consequences of the “state-less” state of affairs. Waiting has yet to receive U.S. distribution, falling amongst other brilliant Palestinian films that few Americans are even aware exist. A trip to the video store and a thorough Netflix search made the disparity even clearer. My attempt to get a hold of several Palestinian films mentioned by Yaqub in her lecture proved futile.

The greatest factor contributing to this disparity is poverty. Palestinians' need for hospitals, schools and basic sustenance takes precedence over funding for the arts. As a result, as of 2005, the Palestinian Territory had a grand total of two cinemas and five theatres.

While poverty may be a significant component of Palestinian film’s non-existence, prejudice and censorship should not be overlooked as significant contributing factors. It goes without saying that Palestine is a subject of unending dissension here in the States, a "side" few people are willing to take for fear of being branded as anti-Semitic or supporters of terrorism. It is not far-fetched to assume that controversy has made Palestinian film a pariah in the American foreign film art house and festival circuit.

An example of this controversy was the 2002 nomination of the Palestinian film Divine Intervention. Despite its success at the Cannes Film Festival, it was rejected from the Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards on the grounds that Palestine was not a country (sounds like a pretty lame excuse to me). Simple rewording found the film a loophole for entry one year later, as a submission of the "Palestinian Authority."

What can American film-enthusiasts do about this disparity? Like many other insurmountable sociopolitical dilemmas, we can’t do much to fix the problem itself. We can, however, raise awareness about Palestinian arts and culture, something that the organizers of the Boston Palestinian Film Festival are hoping to achieve this coming September.

The festival’s organizers hope to engage a larger audience into the creative work of Palestinian filmmakers, as well as raise awareness of the injustices that the dispossessed peoples have coped with for decades. Says Dr. Nitin Sawhaney, cofounder of the festival, “Palestinian cinema, photography and performance represent a powerful means for interpreting the collective identity, historic struggle and creative expression of Palestinians today, through an artistic and cultural lens accessible to all.” To find out more about the festival, including a list of events and fundraising opportunities, visit www.bostonpalestinefilmfest.org. These films deserve to be seen.

Robin Geddie