Right on the heels of TIFF, we find ourselves immersed in both the beauty and struggles of the Middle East. All this brought forth forcefully and intensely at the hands of a dedicated team of individuals, who while lacking the budget of a juggernaut like TIFF, do bring forth passion and genuine love for film. We are speaking about the crew from the Toronto Palestinian Film Festival (TPFF) who in this their second year are doing the uniquely important job of showcasing the cultural aspirations of a group too often ignored.
Alternavox is only too happy to both recommend this unique showcase for cinema and to provide some upcoming coverage for it. In the meantime here is an idea of what you should be on the look out for as it should be stated that there is a lot more than merely film!
Enjoy!
If you want to get some more in depth information check out : www.tpff.ca
TPFF ’09 Program
Saturday, September 26, Opening Night at the
Bloor Cinema – 6:30 pm
Amreeka | Cherien Dabis | 2009 | 96 min | Fiction | USA | Canadian Premiere.
Saturday, September 26 – Bloor Cinema, 9:00 pm
Make a Wish | Cherien Dabis | 2006 | 12 min | Fiction | Palestine/USA | Canadian Premiere
A Boy, a Wall and a Donkey | Hany Abu-Assad | 2008 | 5 min | Fiction | Palestine |
A Stone’s Throw Away | Line Halvorsen | 2003 | 52 min | Documentary | Norway
Sunday Sept 27, 11:00am – 1:00 pm
BRUNCH TPPF ‘09
SAHTAIN! Film & Food Brunch
93 HARBORD, 93 Harbord Street, Toronto
Traditional Palestinian brunch with talk and demo by acclaimed chef Isam Kaisi.
Screening two food-themed short films.
Tickets: $25
(We have been informed that sadly the Brunch is sold out! Gluttony wins the day! Ed.)
Sunday, September 27 – Bloor Cinema, 1:30 pm
Closed Zone | Yoni Goodman | 2009 | 90 sec | Animation | Israel
Tale of the Three Jewels | Michel Khleifi | 1995 | 107 min | Fiction | Palestine/Israel
Sunday, September 27 – Bloor Cinema, 4:00 pm
Measures of Distance | Mona Hatoum | 1988 | 15 min | Experimental
Rana’s Wedding | Hany Abu-Assad | 2002 | 92 min | Fiction | Palestine
Monday, September 28 – Jackman Hall AGO, 7:00 pm
Opel Cadet | From Road Movie, a 12 Screen Multi-Media Installation | Elle Flanders, Tamira Sawatzky |
Territories | Mary Ellen Davis | 2007 | 64 min | Documentary | Canada | Toronto Premiere
Indecisive Moments | Larry Towell | 2008 | 45 min | Documentary | Canada/Palestine | Toronto Premiere | Director in Attendance
Monday, September 28 – Jackman Hall AGO 9:00 pm
Slow Emergency | From Road Movie, a 12 Screen Multi-Media Installation |
Elle Flanders, Tamira Sawatzky |
Ya Halawood | Hazim Bitar & Workshop Students | 2008 | 10 min | Satire | Jordan | Canadian Premiere
Looking Awry | Sobhi al-Zobaidi | 2001 | 29 min | Fiction | Palestine | Director in Attendance
The Edge of Hope | Gerd Schneider | 2006 | 52 min | Documentary | Germany
Tuesday, September 29 – Jackman Hall AGO, 7:00 pm
The New-Old Road to Jericho | From Road Movie, a 12 Screen Multi-Media Installation | Elle Flanders, Tamira Sawatzky |
They Do Not Exist | Mustafa Abu Ali | 1974 | 25 min | Documentary | Palestine | Canadian Premiere
Easy, Easy | Riyad Deis | 2008 | 20 min | Fiction | Palestine | North American Premiere
To My Father | Abdelsalam Shehadeh | 2008 | 52 min | Documentary | Palestine | Canadian Premiere
Tuesday, September 29 – Jackman Hall AGO 9:00 pm
O caminho | From Road Movie, a 12 Screen Multi-Media Installation | Elle Flanders, Tamira Sawatzky |
A Palestinian Mural | Norma Shiheiber | 2008 | 12 min | Documentary | US | Canadian Premiere
Najla | Sidrah Laldin | 2005 | 12 min | Documentary | Canada | World Premiere
Selves and Others: A Portrait of Edward Said | Emmanuel Hamon | 2003 | 54 min | Documentary | France
Wednesday, September 30 – Empire 10 at Square One 7:00 pm
Checkpoint Rock: Songs of Palestine | Javier Corcueran / Fermin Muguruza | 2009 | 70 min | Documentary | Spain | North American Premiere
Wednesday, September 30 – Revue Cinema, 7:00 pm
Al Almanie (the German) | From Road Movie, a 12 Screen Multi-Media Installation | Elle Flanders, Tamira Sawatzky |
About the Sea | Sobhi al-Zobaidi 2007 | 9 min | Documentary | Palestine
By Land or By Water: Gaza Under Siege | Produced and directed by LifeSource members | 2009 | 9 min | Documentary | Palestine/Israel
Drying up Palestine | Rima Essa / Peter Snowdon | 2007 | 28 min | Documentary | Palestine | Panel discussion to follow
Wednesday, September 30 – Revue Cinema, 9:00 pm
To Biddo | From Road Movie, a 12 Screen Multi-Media Installation | Elle Flanders, Tamira Sawatzky |
Arafat & I | Mahdi Fleifel | 2008 | 15 min | Fiction | UK | Canadian Premiere
The View | Hazim Bitar & Rifqui Assaf | 2008 | 16 min | Fiction | Jordon | Canadian Premiere
Sharar | Saleh Qasem, Ammar Quttaineh, Hazim Bitar | 2008 | 17 min | Fiction
Jordon | Canadian Premiere
Like Twenty Impossibles | Annemarie Jacir | 2003 | 17 min | Fiction |
Palestine/US
Thursday, October 1 – Revue Cinema, 7:00 pm
Like Almond Blossoms | From Road Movie, a 12 Screen Multi-Media Installation | Elle Flanders, Tamira Sawatzky
Daggit Gazza | Hadeel Assali / Iman Saqr | 2009 | 9 min | Documentary | US
Canadian Premiere
Rough Cut | Taghreed Saadeh | 2009 | 10 min | Documentary | Canada
Missing Gaza | Sobhi Al Zobaidi | 2005 | 13 min | Documentary | Palestine/Israel | Director in Attendance
I Am Ghazza | Asma Bseiso | 2009 | 42 min | Palestine | North American Premiere | Panel to Follow
Thursday October 1 – Revue Cinema, 9:00 pm
Ezra | From Road Movie, a 12 Screen Multi-Media Installation | Elle Flanders, Tamira Sawatzky |
Chic Point: Fashion For Israeli Checkpoints | Sharif Waked | 2003 | 7 min | Satire | Palestine/Israel
Citizen Nawi | Nissim Mossek | 2007 | 80 min | Documentary | Israel
Friday October 2 – Bloor Cinema, 7:00 pm
Laila’s Birthday | Rashid Masharawi | 2008 | 71 min | Fiction | Palestine/Tunisia/The Netherlands
Friday October 2 – Bloor Cinema, 9:00 pm
Checkpoint Rock: Songs of Palestine | Javier Corcueran / Fermin Muguruza | 2009 | 70 min | Documentary | Spain
Like we explained above not all is film and there are some round table discussions you may want to attend as well as extras:
TPFF ’09 Art Exhibit and Panels
Art Exhibit TPFF ‘09
Jewels in the Machine: New Media Works at TPFF
Sept 28 – Oct 3, 12:00pm – 7:00pm
Beaver Hall Gallery, 29 McCaul St., Toronto
Exhibit Opening: Tuesday Sept 29, 5:00pm – 7:00pm
PWYC
Jewels in the Machine is a group exhibition of new media works in conjunction with the Toronto Palestine Film Festival. Curated by Reena Katz, the exhibition integrates TPFF’s mandate to share and celebrate the richness and diversity of Palestine and Palestinians with Toronto audiences. Using an array of technological practices including video, digital photography, projection and audio composition, the artists in the exhibition explore themes of motion, embodiment, violence, resistance and generational memory. Their work offers nuance and depth to the narratives of Palestine and diaspora so often simplified in the West.
Jewels in the Machine features works by London, Ontario-based senior artist Jamelie Hassan; Venice Biennale exhibitors Sandi Hilal & Alessandro Petti; Local composer and audio innovator John Kameel Farah; internationally acclaimed video artist Jumana Manna; and the illustration work of art students from Project Hope’s Graphic Novel initiative in Nablus.
Not Your Harem Girl: Cinema and Stereotypes
Monday Sept 28, 4:00-6:00 pm
William Doo Auditorium, 45 Willcocks Street, Toronto
Panelists: Dana Olwan, Nahed Mansour, Natalie Kouri-Towe
As the theme of this year’s festival is “non-stereotypical cinema,” this panel will look back at the history of stereotypical representations of the Arab in film, particularly the Arab woman. The panel will also discuss how young Arab artists are subverting these stereotypes through filmmaking and literature.
Cinema Politica: Film and the Art of Resistance
Wednesday Sept 30, 3:30-5:30 pm
Beaver Hall Gallery, 29 McCaul Street, Toronto
Panelists: Vicky Moufawad-Paul, Ali Kazimi, John Hupfield
Three documentary filmmakers who use filmmaking to tell unheard stories will discuss their art together. The evening will include a screening of shorts by Vicky Moufawad-Paul, Programming/Exhibition Coordinator of A Space Gallery, and John Hupfield from 7th Generation Image Makers, an arts and mural program for Native youth in Toronto.
Steel for the Spirit: Palestinian Cultural Production Today
Friday Oct 2, 3:30-5:30 pm
Beaver Hall Gallery, 29 McCaul Street, Toronto
Panelists: Sobhi al-Zobaidi, Rafeef Ziadah, Yafa Jarrar
The closing panel features three young Palestinian artists discussing what drives Palestinian cultural production today. The panelists will examine art forms ranging from spoken word to satiric filmmaking to dabke (Palestinian traditional dancing), and how each form brings a fresh perspective to the Palestinian narrative.
Last but not least here is the trailer for the festival!
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