Focus: Occupation and migration
This year we have two special sections in the program with films that thematically belong together. One section is about the occupation in Israel and Palestine and the other on migration. Are these topics of interest to you, we recommend that you check out the movies within the section and the complementary talks and debates. We have invited experts on the subjects to share their opinions with you during the festival.
Focus: Occupation, discrimination and human encounters in Israel and Palestine
This special section is composed of two documentaries and three feature films, each of them conveying stories about life in Israel and Palestine. Two films from Palestine display life under the occupation in the West Bank. Eyes of a Thief, is a film about Tarek returning to Nablus after ten years in prison for having killed ten Israeli soldiers, while the documentary The Wanted 18 is about non-violent resistance during the first intifada. The remaining three films examine the relationship between Palestinian Arabs and Israelis inside Israel.
The feature film Dancing Arabs conveys alienation for Palestinians in Israeli society, while the documentary Dancing in Jaffa brings out the mutual scepticism between Palestinian Arabs and Jewish Israelis children who want to learn to dance, but also how positive encounters can be formed. The fifth film in this section is the absurd Self Made who masterfully conveys something of the absurdity that prevails in the political realities on the ground. We believe that together, but also individually, these films contribute to exciting new perspectives on how life can manifest in Palestine and Israel. This program is shown with support from NOREF.
Panel talk with Palestinian Mazin Qumsiyeh
Saturday 18 April at. 2:45 PM Victoria 2
What methods do the Palestinian resistance movement have left to use? The film The Wanted 18 shows innovative non-violent actions during the first intifada. Are these mechanisms still effective today, or have they played out their role? Panel discussion with Mazin Qumsiyeh, Palestinian researcher and activist. Screened in collaboration with Oslo Dokumentarkino.
Focus: Escape - from war, from crisis, towards a better life
This special section is composed of five films which in various ways are dealing with the theme of migration. Countries in Northern Africa has for many years been transit places for people from other African countries whose aim is Europe. Some are fleeing war or persecution, others carry on dreaming of something else, a new start. The war in Syria especially, has driven millions of people to flee to neighbouring countries, while the high level of affluence in the Gulf continues to attract masses of migrant workers from countries with few job opportunities. The films we have chosen reflect this diversity.
Where the first feature film, Hope, is an intense portrayal of being displaced, the second feature film Atlantic. is a more contemplative and lingering film about the desire to travel, not as escape, but as a start of something else. The three documentaries in this section also tells different stories about escape and displacement. The women in Queens of Syria have fled war and portrays their experiences through a drama from the ancient times, and it is a strong portrait about feelings of loss and longing. On the Bride's Side shows us Europe from a refugee perspective and how limits are perceived for those not permitted. And finally in Champ of the Camp we get acquainted with some migrant workers in the Gulf, who participate in a singing contest, and fill their days with nothing but work and longing for their families at home. This program is put together with support from the Nordic Cultural Fund.
Panel talk with migration researcher Catherine Wihtol de Wenden
Saturday 18 April, 5:00 p.m in the basement at Victoria, Free admission
Catherine Wihtol de Wenden will talk about dynamics and motivations for migration to Europe, and how immigrants experience the first meeting with European society and European immigration policy. Moderator is Maria Gabrielsen Jumbert, senior researcher at PRIO.
Panel debates after screenings
Film: Queens of Syria
Friday 17 April at. 4:00 PM Victoria 3
Join the panel conversation about the Syrian refugee crisis after the screening with Mehdi Farshbaf, Mona Abdel-Fadil, post.doc at the Department of Media and Communication, University of Oslo, and Ina Tin, senior adviser at Amnesty Norway.
Film: Hope
Sunday 19 April at. 1:30 PM Victoria 2
After the screening we have a panel discussion about North African migration with Catherine Wihtol de Wenden, research director for Centre national de la recherche scientifique and professor at Science Po.
