Indpls, IN – From April 20 to May 5, Indianapolis area residents will join Americans in more than 25 cities throughout the United States hosting the Palestine Film Festival, sponsored by the American Association for Palestinian Equal Rights (AAPER).
The Indianapolis Palestine Film Festival, which will be held at various locations, will showcase films about Palestine to
educate Americans about the situation there. The Festival offers citizens of Indianapolis a unique and entertaining opportunity to engage with one of the most pressing issues of our day.
The featured film of the festival, SALT OF THIS SEA (Official Selection at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival), will be shown
on May 4th at the Earth House (237 N East St, 7PM). The film is romantic drama about a working class woman and her experiences traveling home to Palestine (directed by Annemarie Jacir, Palestine 2008).
Two short films will turn the Festival’s focus to the Gaza Strip. SOMETHING TO PROVE – FROM GAZA TO THE U.S.A follows 15 boys from the Gaza Strip on their first trip out of Gaza, to the United States (directed by Johan Eriksson, Gaza, 2011). ONE FAMILY IN GAZA tells the story of the Awajah family, exposing the larger tragedy of Gaza and the courage and resilience of its people (directed by Jen Marlowe, USA, 2011). These films will be shown at the IUPUI Campus Center (420
University Blvd, Rm CE305) on April 20 at 6:30PM, at the Islamic Society of North America (6555 S Cty Rd 750 E, Plainfield) on April 30 at 4:30 PM and St Luke’s United Methodist Church (100 W 86th St) on May 5 at 7PM.
PRIVATE, a fictional feature film that follows a Palestinian family that are confined as their home is commandeered by Israeli soldiers (directed by Saverio Costanzo, Italy, 2004) will be at the IUPUI Campus Center (Rm CE405) on 4/28 at 6:30PM.
The Festival will conclude on May 5 with a screening of WITH GOD ON OUR SIDE, a documentary that examines what Christian Zionism teaches and, more importantly, the real implications it has on the people of the Middle East (directed by Porter Speakman, Jr., USA, 2010). This screening will be at St George Orthodox Church (4020 N Sherman Dr) at 7PM.
The Palestine Film Festival will (a) raise awareness about the situation in Palestine among Americans who will attend and sponsor the Festival and (b) raise funds for AAPER’s “I’m an American for Palestine” advertising campaign to take place in Spring 2011. Admission is free to all screenings.
Wednesday, April 20th - IUPUI Campus Center, Room 305 - 6:30 PM
One Family in Gaza: Palestinians in Gaza are depicted either as violent terrorists or as helpless victims. The Awajah family challenges both portrayals. Through one family’s story, the larger tragedy of Gaza is exposed, and the courage and resilience of its people shines through. (Documentary: USA | 2011 | 23 min.)
Something to Prove: 15 girls and 15 boys from the Gaza Strip travel to the United States . For most of them, it was the first time they had left Gaza in their lives. This film follows the boys and girls on their journey. (Documentary: UNRWA, Gaza | 2011 | 39 min)
_ Thursday, April 21st - Indiana University ( Bloomington ) Woodburn Hall, Room 101 - 7:30 PM
One Family in Gaza: Palestinians in Gaza are depicted either as violent terrorists or as helpless victims. The Awajah family challenges both portrayals. Through one family’s story, the larger tragedy of Gaza is exposed, and the courage and resilience of its people shines through. (Documentary: USA | 2011 | 23 min.)
Something to Prove: 15 girls and 15 boys from the Gaza Strip travel to the United States . For most of them, it was the first time they had left Gaza in their lives. This film follows the boys and girls on their journey. (Documentary: UNRWA, Gaza | 2011 | 39 min)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday, April 28th - IUPUI Campus Center , Room 405 - 6:30 PM
Private: Mohammad, his wife and their five children live in a large, isolated house located mid-way between a Palestinian village and an Israeli settlement. Viewed as a strategic lookout point, the house is forcefully taken over by Israeli soldiers, who confine Mohammad and his family to a few downstairs rooms in daytime and a single room at night. Against his wife’s wishes, Mohammad decides to keep the family together in the house until the soldiers move on, creating division among his kin and a precarious relationship with the soldiers. (Feature Film: Italy | 2004 | 90 min.)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Saturday, April 30th - Islamic Society of North America, 6555 S Cty Rd 750 E, Plainfield , IN
4:30 PM 1st Film. 5:30 PM Prayers. Second film after prayers.
One Family in Gaza: Palestinians in Gaza are depicted either as violent terrorists or as helpless victims. The Awajah family challenges both portrayals. Through one family’s story, the larger tragedy of Gaza is exposed, and the courage and resilience of its people shines through. (Documentary: USA | 2011 | 23 min.)
Something to Prove: 15 girls and 15 boys from the Gaza Strip travel to the United States . For most of them, it was the first time they had left Gaza in their lives. This film follows the boys and girls on their journey. (Documentary: UNRWA, Gaza | 2011 | 39 min)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Wednesday, May 4th - Earth House, 237 N East St., Indianapolis 7:00 PM
Salt of This Sea: Soraya, a Palestinian refugee born in Brooklyn, discovers that her grandfather’s savings were frozen in a bank account in Jaffa when he was exiled in 1948. Stubborn, passionate and determined to reclaim what is hers, she fulfills her life-long dream of “returning” to Palestine . Once there, slowly she is taken apart by the reality around her and she is forced to confront her own anger. (Feature Film: Palestine | 2008 | 104 min.)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday, May 5th - St Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W 86th St., Indianapolis - 7:00 PM
One Family in Gaza: Palestinians in Gaza are depicted either as violent terrorists or as helpless victims. The Awajah family challenges both portrayals. Through one family’s story, the larger tragedy of Gaza is exposed, and the courage and resilience of its people shines through. (Documentary: USA | 2011 | 23 min.)
Something to Prove: 15 girls and 15 boys from the Gaza Strip travel to the United States . For most of them, it was the first time they had left Gaza in their lives. This film follows the boys and girls on their journey. (Documentary: UNRWA, Gaza | 2011 | 39 min)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday, May 5th - St George Orthodox Church, 4020 N Sherman Dr., Indianapolis - 7:00 PM
With God on Our Side: With God On Our Side examines the theology of Christian Zionism. Aspects of this belief system lead some Christians in the West to give uncritical support to Israeli government policies, even those that privilege Jews at the expense of Palestinians, leading to great suffering among Muslim and Christian Palestinians alike and threatening Israel ’s security as a whole. This film demonstrates that there is a biblical alternative for Christians who want to love and support the people of Israel , a theology that doesn’t favor one people group over another but instead promotes peace and reconciliation for both Jews and Palestinians. (Documentary: USA | 2010 | 82 min.)
