The Freedom Theatre’s cinema club, with fortnightly screenings, re-launched earlier this month with a screening of ‘Last Men in Aleppo’ by Feras Fayyad,
With Jenin’s only cinema closing its doors in late 2016 to give way for a shopping mall, The Freedom Theatre has screened films on an irregular basis, for both children and adults in Jenin camp. We have re-launched this project as a means of closing a cultural gap and safeguarding the old tradition of cinema by offering ongoing film screenings for the community of Jenin.
Watching films is not only about fun and diversion by diving into other worlds, it is also about giving room for reflection and opening up new horizons in a community that has to deal with closed borders and restricted mobility.
The Freedom Theatre aims to offer a space in Jenin, where people first of all have the opportunity to experience the art of film. Furthermore, the purpose is to create space for dialogue and discussion about various issues that are relevant for the people of the community. Having different target groups (children aged 6 to 12, youth and adults) enables matching the selection of movies and the discussed topics to the audience. After each film screening the audience is invited to share their opinion. The concept is about enabling reflection and discussion, empathize and compare, understand and rethink, changes of perspective and identification. Issues could range from gender roles and relationships to political circumstances in different countries.
We have screened the following films over the last few weeks – details of upcoming screening coming soon:
4th March – ‘Last Men in Aleppo’ by Fares Fayyed. A documentary film about the Syrian Civil War; written and directed by Feras Fayyad, produced by Kareem Abeed and Søren Steen Jespersen, it documents the life in Aleppo during the war and sheds light on the search-and-rescue missions of the internationally recognized White Helmets who are the first to rush towards military strikes and attacks in the hope of saving lives.
13th March – ‘3000 Nights’ by Mai Masri. A story of injustice and new birth in Palestine. In celebration of International Women’s day, we screened a film that illustrates the plight of Palestinian political prisoners through one woman’s experience. A poetic, compelling and raw allegory for freedom under occupation.
18th March – ‘Naila and the Uprising’ by Julia Bacha. When a nation-wide uprising breaks out in 1987, a woman in Gaza must make a choice between love, family, and freedom. Undaunted, she embraces all three, joining a clandestine network of Palestinian women who shake the Israeli occupation and put Palestinians on the map for the first time.
