About the Occupation program:
Occupation is a selection of short films that aims to shine light on the experiences of people living in occupied regions of the Arab world. This selection features powerful and thought-provoking short films that explore the themes of resistance, resilience, and hope in the face of adversity. Through the power of film, we aim to provide a platform to uplift the voices of filmmakers living under occupation or in exile, and to shed light on life under systems of oppression.
Info:
Screening format: DCP
Director: Wisam Al-Jafari
Writer: Wisam Al-Jafari
Cast: Jameel Hilmi, Mohammad Al Khmour, Mutaz Shafout, Salah Abu Nima, Nilly Salman, Mariam Hamdan
Country of origin: Palestine
Language: Arabic
Subtitles: English
Runtime: 15 minutes
About the film:
Two young Palestinians are trying to record a demo for a music competition inside a noisy and crowded refugee camp. Ambience is a simple but powerful attempt to show how fundamental human rights are lost when living in a camp. It sheds light on what it is like to be young and ambitious under harsh conditions, while celebrating resilience and finding creative ways to make a life for oneself.
Ambience won the third-place prize at Cinefondation - Cannes Film Festival 2019
Wisam Al-Jafari
Wisam Al-Jafari began making films in his teens after he started “playing around” with a Handycam. He obtained his BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in filmmaking at Dar al-Kalima University. Alongside making his own films, Al-Jafari collaborates with other filmmakers in the West Bank.
Info:
Screening format: DCP
Original title: ٣ كاميرات مسروقة
Directed by: Equipe Media, RåFILM
Language: Arabic
Subtitles: English
Runtime: 17 minutes
About the film:
Equipe Media, a video activist group, fights to document human rights violations in Africa's last colony, Western Sahara, by secretly filming police and military attacks on peaceful demonstrations and testimonies of violence against Sahrawis. As journalists are not allowed entry and the Moroccan authorities have implemented a near-total media blockade, Equipe Media risks severe consequences to capture unique footage from the territory and break absolute censorship.
Info:
Screening format: DCP
Original title: البحث عن الترفاس
Director: Lafdal Mohamed Salem
Writer: Mohamed Salem Salek
Cast: Hamadha Lahsan, Galia Mohamed, Alabad Brahim, Sleman Lfilali, Malainin Abdalahi
Country of origin: Western Sahara
Language: Arabic (Hassaniya)
Subtitles: English
Runtime: 14 minutes
About the film:
Searching for Tirfas tells the story of three Sahrawi refugees who try to make a living by making bricks in a humorous manner. The young men decide to invest all they have to start a truffle business.
Lafdal Mohamed Salem
Lafdal Mohamed Salem is a Sahrawi filmmaker who was born in the Sahrawi refugee camps near Tindouf (Algeria). He studied filmmaking at the EFA Abidin Kaid Saleh School and obtained a degree in production at the Madrid Film Institute, where he studied for two years with a full academic scholarship. Searching for Tirfas is his second short film as a director.