For our second gathering around Palestinian resistance and relation to land through film-making, we invite you at LE 18 for the screening of:
Yom al-Ard Monica Maurer, 1019, color, 15'19 English
& Stitching Palestine Carol Mansour 2017, color, 78', Arabic and English

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Yom al-Ard is a portrait of the fragmentation of the land, the experience, and the people of Palestine, showcasing the systematic efforts to disperse, fragment, and destroy the audiovisual memory and collective identity of Palestinians. It is composed of rare footage shot in the Galilee (Nazareth, Deir Hanna, and Sakhnin) in celebration of the 5th Land Day Anniversary on March 1981 which has recently been restored and digitised. Land Day is held every year to commemorate the six Palestinian protesters who were killed by Israeli forces and the hundred others wounded during mass demonstrations against land confiscation on March 30 1976. The film pays homage to the transversal unity of the people, their collective energy in the defense of Palestinian identity –unimaginable today– and to their charismatic leader, the five times Mayor of Nazareth and poet Tawfik Zayyad.

Monica Maurer is a German director who worked with the PLO’s Palestine Film Unit (now Palestinian Cinema Institution) in the 70’s. Between 1977 and 1982 Monica Maurer made 6 films on the Palestinian diaspora in Lebanon. The films were part of a collective effort to build the base of a future Palestinian state: democratic and secular, while aiming at social change and justice. She is currently based and working in Rome on a monumental project to digitize the Palestinian visual documents of this era.

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Stitching Palestine — Twelve Palestinian women sit before us and talk of their life before the Diaspora, of their memories, of their lives and of their identity. Their narratives are connected by the enduring thread of the ancient art of embroidery. Twelve resilient, determined and articulate women from disparate walks of life: lawyers, artists, housewives, activists, architects, and politicians stitch together the story of their homeland, of their dispossession, and of their unwavering determination that justice will prevail. Through their stories, the individual weaves into the collective, yet remaining distinctly personal. Twelve women, twelve life-spans, and stories from Palestine; a land whose position was fixed on the map of the world, but is now embroidered on its face.

Carol Mansour is an independent documentary filmmaker. She founded Forward Film Production in 2000. With over 30 years in documentary production, Mansour has covered the world from Sri Lanka to Lebanon to Uzbekistan, receiving international recognition and honour for her films, which reflect her concern for human rights and social justice. Her films tackle issues of forced displacement and refugee rights, migrant workers, mental health, war and memory, child labour, and women’s rights. Carol’s films have won numerous prestigious awards with over one hundred film festival screenings and official selections worldwide. Carol is Lebanese/ Canadian of Palestinian origin.

The United Screens for Palestine Film Night is an initiative co-organised by LE 18, QANAT, Harvest Festival and Malhoun, facilitated by and taking part into United Screens for Palestine. This evening’s selection has been curated by @maqam.tv