NEWS
ONGOING
KAMAL ALJAFARI RETROSPECTIVE November 8th – 14th 2024
︎︎︎ Anthology Film Archives, New York
Retrospective of Kamal Aljafari’s works curated by Inney Prakash.
︎︎︎http://anthologyfilmarchives.org/film_screenings/series/58435
KAMAL ALJAFARI RETROSPECTIVE – Silver Series #9
November 7th – 24th 2024
︎︎︎ Kunsternes Hus, Oslo
Retrospective of Kamal Aljafari’s works curated by Abirami Logendran.
︎︎︎https://kunstnerneshus.no/en/program/exhibitions/kamal-aljafari
A FIDAI FILM SCREENING
November 2nd 2024
︎︎︎︎︎︎Nuova Orfeo, Palermo
Screening of A Fidai Film alongside Rosalind Nashishibi‘s work, curated by Nuova Orfeo. An evening in collaboration with Claire Fontaine and Jun Kebab. Dedicated to the victims of the genocide perpetuated by the Israeli government.
︎︎︎︎︎︎https://www.nuovaorfeo.it/en/
A FIDAI FILM SCREENING
October 18th - 28th 2024
︎︎︎︎︎︎SEMINCI - Valladolid International Film Week
Screening of A Fidai Film at SEMINCI.
︎︎︎︎︎︎https://www.seminci.com/en/peliculas/a-fidai-film/
UNDR SCREENING
October 21st - 27th 2024
︎︎︎︎︎︎Uppsala Short Film Festival
UNDR will be screened at Uppsala Short Film Festival.
︎︎︎︎︎︎https://shortfilmfestival.com/en/program-2024/internationella-tavlingssektionen-2024/brannpunkter-ic2/
A FIDAI FILM AND UNDR AWARDS
October 18th - 28th 2024
︎︎︎︎︎︎Lima Alterna Festival Internacional de Cine
A Fidai Film got the Best International Film.
UNDR got the Best International Short Film.
︎︎︎︎︎︎https://limaalternafilmfestival.com/
A FIDAI FILM AND UNDR AWARDS
October 17th - 27th 2024
︎︎︎︎︎︎Transmutación Cine Contemporaneo, Mexico
A Fidai Film and UNDR will be screened at the festival Transmutación Cine Contemporaneo.
︎︎︎︎︎︎https://transmutacioncine.com/peliculas/a-fidai-film/
︎︎︎https://transmutacioncine.com/peliculas/a-fidai-film/
A FIDAI FILM and UNDR SCREENING
October 17th - 22th 2024
︎︎︎︎︎︎Viennale - Vienna International Film Festival
Screening of A Fidai Film and UNDR at Viennale.
︎︎︎︎︎︎https://www.viennale.at/de/film/fidai-film
PAST
A FIDAI FILM SCREENING
October 14th - 20th 2024
︎︎︎︎︎︎FICValdivia, Chile
Screening of A Fidai Film at FICValdivia as the Central Film of the festival.
︎︎︎︎︎︎https://ficvaldivia.cl/en/ficvaldivia-announces-central-film-and-tributes-for-31st-edition-2024/
A FIDAI FILM SCREENING & NOMINATIONS
October 9th - 13th 2024
︎︎︎︎︎︎MIRAGE Film Festival, Oslo
Screening of A Fidai Film at MIRAGE.
The film has got the MIRAGE Sound Design Award. and it has been nominated for MIRAGE Editing Award.
︎︎︎︎︎︎https://www.mirage.no/films/a-fidai-film
︎︎︎https://www.mirage.no/nominated
A FIDAI FILM and UNDR SCREENING
October 9th - 20th 2024
︎︎︎︎︎︎London Film Festival, BFI
Screening of A Fidai Film and UNDR at BFI.
︎︎︎︎︎︎https://www.ica.art/films/a-fidai-film-lff
A FIDAI FILM SCREENING
October 8th - 13th 2024
︎︎︎︎︎︎Festival International du Film Indépendant de Bordeaux
Screening of A Fidai Film in Bordeaux.
︎︎︎︎︎︎https://www.fifib.com/en/film/a-fidai-film
A FIDAI FILM SCREENING
September 25th - 30th 2024
︎︎︎︎︎︎Pravo Ljudski Film Festival, Sarajevo
Screening of A Fidai Film in Sarajevo.
︎︎︎︎︎︎https://pravoljudski.org/films/a-fidai-film/
SPECIAL MENTION UNDR
September 24th - 29th 2024
︎︎︎︎︎︎Bucharest Experimental Film Festival, BIEFF
UNDR was awarded a special mention at the 14th edition of the Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival (BIEFF)!
This year's jury brought together Niels Putman, Morena Faverin and Azin Feizabadi.
︎︎︎https://bieff.ro/en/bieff-2023-awards/
A FIDAI FILM and UNDR SCREENING
September 28th 2024
︎︎︎︎︎︎Twin Cities Arab Film Festival, Minneapolis
Screening of A Fidai Film and UNDR at TCAFF, presented by Mizna.
︎︎︎︎︎︎https://mspfilm.org/show/a-fidai-film/
A FIDAI FILM SCREENING
September 28th 2024
︎︎︎︎︎︎Toronto Palestine Film Festival
Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
Screening of A Fidai Film and UNDR at TCAFF, presented by Mizna.
︎︎︎https://www.tpff.ca/program-guide-2024/2024/8/5/template-76wml
A FIDAI FILM SCREENING
September 26th - October 2nd 2024, Seoul (Korea)
︎︎︎ DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, Goyang
A Fidai Film will be screened at the 16th DMZ Docs.
︎︎︎https://tickets.sff.ba/films/2728
A FIDAI FILM & UNDR SCREENING
September 24th - 29th 2024
︎︎︎︎︎︎Bucharest Experimental Film Festival, BIEFF
A Fidai Film and UNDR will be screened at BIEFF.
What distinguishes Kamal Aljafari in the field of montage filmmaking is his unique way of intervening on the materials he is working with. Here the filmmaker uses color blocking (subversively appropriating a technique typically used by censors) and colorization to reject the official narratives of the Occupation and to transform them into a gesture of resistance against suppression and the erasure of Palestinian history and culture. Drawing both on the poetry of revolutionary writer Ghassan Kanafani and on a Palestinian film archive from Beirut that was looted and destroyed in 1982, the film spans over several decades, from the years of the British Mandate of Palestine, through the Nakba and the multiple post-1948 wars, up to present day. A Fidai Film is an act of radical re-appropriation by one of today’s leading experimental filmmakers – and a film that is all the more urgent now, in the context of the genocide in Gaza. (Flavia Dima)
︎︎︎︎︎︎https://bieff.ro/en/film/a-fidai-film/
A FIDAI FILM SCREENING
September 19th - 23rd 2024
︎︎︎︎︎︎Palestine Cinema Days, Ramallah
Screening of A Fidai Film at Palestine Cinema Days.
︎︎︎︎︎︎https://mspfilm.org/show/a-fidai-film/
KAMAL ALJAFARI RETROSPECTIVE
September 12th – 15th 2024
︎︎︎ EDOC, Encuentros de otro cine, Ecuador
La imagen como desafío: retrospective of Kamal Aljafari’s films at the EDOC, Encuentros de otro cine, Ecuador.
︎︎︎https://festivaledoc.org/la-imagen-como-desafio-el-cine-de-kamal-aljafari/
A FIDAI FILM AWARD
September 12th – 15th 2024
︎︎︎ CIFF, Camden Inetrnational Film Festival
A Fidai Film got the Cinematic Vision Award at CIFF.
︎︎︎https://deadline.com/2024/09/2024-camden-international-film-festival-awards-1236090968/
A FIDAI FILM SCREENING
September 12th – 15th 2024
︎︎︎ CIFF, Camden Inetrnational Film Festival
Screening of A Fidai Film in the main competition.
︎︎︎https://pointsnorthinstitute.org/ciff/
A FIDAI FILM SCREENING
September 11th – 15th 2024
︎︎︎ Villa Medici Film Festival, Rome
Screening of A Fidai Film at Villa Medici Film Festival.
︎︎︎https://www.villamedici.it/en/festival-di-film-di-villa-medici-edizione-2024/
A FIDAI FILM and PARADISO, XXXI, 108 at LUSSAS
August 22nd 2024
︎︎︎ États généraux du film documentaire, Lussas
A Fidai Film and Paradiso, XXXI, 108 will be screened as part of the programme "Films in a state of war".
︎︎︎hhttps://openagenda.com/agendas/35777956/embeds/864718/events/78733589?lang=fr
A FIDAI FILM SCREENING
August 19th 2024 , 12:30, Cineplexx Sarajevo 4
︎︎︎ Sarajevo Film Festival
A Fidai Film will be screened as part of in this year's Sarajevo Film Festival Partner Presents program (Doha Film Institute).
︎︎︎https://tickets.sff.ba/films/2728
TWO FILMS BY KAMAL ALJAFARI: AN UNUSUAL SUMMER + A FIDAI FILM
August 10th – 11th 2024
︎︎︎ Wolf Kino, Berlin
We are happy to welcome back director Kamal Aljafari in person to introduce An Unusual Summer, and a repeat screening of A Fidai Film, before we plan to host a complete retrospective of his work in the coming months.
︎︎︎https://wolfberlin.org/en/programme/events/kamal-aljafari-zu-gast-an-unusual-summer-a-fidai-film
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE DOX AWARD for A FIDAI FILM
August 10th 2024
︎︎︎ DokuFest, Kosovo
A Fidai Film got the International Feature Award at DokuFest.
︎︎︎https://dokufest.com/en/festival/2024/international-feature-dox/a-fidai-film
A FIDAI FILM and UNDR SCREENINGS
August 2nd – 10th 2024
︎︎︎ Dokufest, Kosovo
Screening of UNDR and A Fidai Film.
︎︎︎https://dokufest.com/en/festival/2024/international-feature-dox/a-fidai-film
︎︎︎https://dokufest.com/en/festival/2024/no-other-land-films-on-palestine/undr
BEST EXiS AWARD for UNDR
July 25th 2024
︎︎︎ (EXiS) Experimental Film and Video Festival in Seoul
UNDR got the Best EXiS Award at EXiS in Seoul.
︎︎︎https://ex-is.org/information/2024/7/25/exis2024-ex-now-
AN UNUSUAL ARCHIVE – KAMAL ALJAFARI
June 2nd 2024
︎︎︎ Unarchive – Found Footage Fest, Rome
Screening of UNDR, Paradiso, XXXI, 108, An Unusual Summer.
︎︎︎https://unarchivefest.it/eventi/blocco-kamal-aljafari/
KAMAL ALJAFARI NAMED AS FELLOW AT INSITITUTE FOR IDEAS AND IMAGINATION 2024 - 2025
︎︎︎ Columbia University, Reid Hall, Paris
The Institute for Ideas and Imagination is a residential fellowship program housed at Columbia’s Reid Hall in Paris, offering support for faculty and recent doctoral students from all departments and schools to work alongside writers and artists from around the world. It was launched as a presidential initiative just six years ago and now forms part of Columbia Global, which brings together global initiatives at the university, including Columbia World Projects, the Columbia Global Centers, and the Committee on Global Thought.
︎︎︎https://ideasimagination.columbia.edu/news/announcing-our-2024-25-class-of-fellows/
KAMAL ALJAFARI JURY
May 23rd 2024 – June 2nd 2024
︎︎︎ IndieLisboa, Lisboa
Jury at International Feature Film Competition.
︎︎︎https://indielisboa.com/en/festival/jury-and-awards/
RETROSPECTIVE KAMAL ALJAFARI
May 23rd 2024 – June 2nd 2024
︎︎︎ IndieLisboa, Lisboa
Honouring the cinematographic work of Palestinian director Kamal Aljafari
︎︎︎https://indielisboa.com/en/section/retrospective-kamal-aljafari/
KAMAL ALJAFARI SCREENINGS
May 21st 2024, 18:45/21:00
︎︎︎ Forum des images, Paris
Screening of “A Fidai Film”, “Paradiso, XXXI, 108”, “The Roof”, “Balconies” at the presence of the filmmaker, followed by a discussion with the critic and researcher Occitane Lacurie.
︎︎︎https://www.forumdesimages.fr/les-programmes/soirees-100pc-doc-2023-2024/a-fidai-film-prec.-de-paradiso-suivi-dun-debat-avec-le-cineaste-et-occitane-lacurie
︎︎︎https://www.forumdesimages.fr/les-programmes/soirees-100pc-doc-2023-2024/the-roof-prec.-de-balconies-suivi-dun-debat-avec-le-cineaste-et-occitane-lacurie
A FIDAI FILM SCREENINGS
May 16th 2024, 19
︎︎︎ Wolf Kino, Berlin
Screening of “A Fidai Film” in Berlin.
︎︎︎https://wolfberlin.org/en/programme/events/a-fidai-film-q-a-with-kamal-aljafari
“A FIDAI FILM” FILM SCREENING
May 10rd - 23rd 2024
︎︎︎ Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam
Poignant found footage film on the looting of archives during the civil war in Lebanon, in 1982. What can we see, feel and perhaps comprehend from archival materials? It is a dialogue that can only begin with putting a mirror in front of archives.
︎︎︎https://www.eyefilm.nl/en/whats-on/a-fidai-film/1249444?fbclid=IwAR1ykiKhB9QLX6XF_XiRgd7TL2hfRrTeriQJK8Epx2XDyA3peBcV93GvEEA_aem_AZsI37Wt8BZE6ePN3Gkjcs_ZHvCgcxq1PK2wjlZ_VTDSIi7CTS-RzqMAZkN8HDBL9SE
KAMAL ALJAFARI FILM SCREENINGS
May 7th- 8th 2024, 19:00/20:30, Galleria Toledo, Napoli
︎︎︎ Napoli MONiTOR
Screenings of “The Roof”, “Port of Memory”, “Recollection”, “An Unusual Summer”, as part of the cycle A FUOCO! Decifrare un conflitto, organized by Napoli MOLiTOR.
︎︎︎https://napolimonitor.it/a-fuoco-decifrare-un-conflitto-tutte-le-proiezioni-della-rassegna/
“A FIDAI FILM” FILM SCREENING
April 15th 2024, 18:15, Capitole Leone, Nyon
︎︎︎ Visions du Réel, Nyon
In the summer of 1982, the Israeli army invaded Beirut. During this time, it raided the Palestinian Research Center and looted its entire archive. The archive contained historical documents of Palestine, including a collection of still and moving images. Taking this as a premise, 'A Fidai Film' aims to create a counter-narrative to this loss, presenting a form of cinematic sabotage that seeks to reclaim and restore the looted memories of Palestinian history. It’s a poignant exploration of identity, memory, and resistance, told through a unique blend of documentary and experimental filmmaking techniques.
“PARADISO, XXXI, 108” SCREENING
April 13th 2024
︎︎︎ Images Festival, Toronto
Filmmakers make the light. There is always poetry in images and images in poetry: imagination, desire, steadfastness, and liberation are entangled into material manifestations of scenes, vignettes, soundscapes, lightscapes, stillness, and rhythm. The films and videos in dreamworlds are thought of as material possibilities in which worlds appear that are made up of dreams; worlds dreamt in daylight, in rumination; worlds that follow an intuition through movement, dance, and protest. Dreaming is the condition whereby forms emerge as relation, as our love for the land, and as liberation: in unexpected cuts, speeds, scratches, interruptions, fragments, blurs, a green ray. There’s an intimacy here that corresponds to the image’s vibrancy, dynamism, and beat. Images are light.
︎︎︎https://imagesfestival.com/events/dreamworlds
“PARADISO, XXXI, 108” FILM SCREENING
May 5th 2023, 19:30, Microcine Adalberto Nogués
︎︎︎ FICIC 12 . Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente de Cosquín, Argentina
«El título remite a un breve y enigmático texto tardío de Borges incluido en El hacedor en el que se especula sobre la pérdida de una verdad cuya restitución haría que todo fuera distinto; el título también evoca un pasaje de La divina comedia. La relación que se establece entre ambas referencias literarias con el pretérito material de propaganda del ejército israelí, el cual puede ser testimonio o ficción, mantiene una opacidad semántica programática e incómoda, debido a la selección en sí de cada plano, un sistema de montaje inteligente en el que se trabaja la oposición entre acción y descanso y una banda musical diversa y de procedencias significativas que desconoce y contradice el eventual sentido de las imágenes volviéndolas susceptibles de inscribirlas en la parodia, el ridículo o la impugnación. Lo que se desmantela en los 19 minutos es cualquier fervor patriótico presupuesto en los materiales, cuyo nuevo ordenamiento posibilita visibilizar algo así como el inconsciente de las imágenes. Roger Koza».
︎︎︎https://cosquinfilmfest.com/programacion/ficic-12-programacion-2023/competencia-internacional-cortometrajes/paradiso-xxxi-108/?fbclid=IwAR06DeIj9gdpIwusGaYVo-9JgprUx9hASAPzwjj2_gDzVkKTFSwXWfePGXs
“PARADISO, XXXI, 108” FILM SCREENING
April 30th 2023, 16:00, Centre Culturelle Universitaire de Gabès
︎︎︎Gabes Cinema Fen, Tunisia
«On n’entend plus rien, le rugissement de notre avion absorbe tout autre son. Nous nous dirigeons dans le plus gigantesque feu d’artifice insonorisé du monde, et sous peu nous lâcherons nos bombes».
︎︎︎https://gabescinemafen.com/cinema/CourtMetrage/202
“PARADISO, XXXI, 108” AND “PORT OF MEMORY” SCREENING
April 29th 2023, 15:00, Sinema Transtopia
April 30th 2023, 17:00, Arsenal
︎︎︎AlFilm, Berlin
“Paradiso, XXXI, 108 befasst sich mit dem Vergleich zwischen der filmischen Darstellung von bewaffneten Angebern als heroisch und aufregend und der tatsächlichen verheerenden Realität. Der Film zeigt gesammelte Aufnahmen des israelischen Militärs bei Manövern in der Wüste, die eine Zweideutigkeit zwischen dem, was real ist, und dem, was gezeigt wird, kreieren. Aljafari unterstreicht die Idee, dass Gewalt immer dupliziert wird, eine Darstellung ihrer selbst ist.”
“In Port of Memory zeigt Aljafari ein subtiles Porträt der Stadt Jaffa. Der Film fängt in kraftvoller Sprache die Rituale der Stadt, die alltägliche Präsenz ihrer Bewohner:innen sowie ihren Kampf gegen die drohende Vertreibung und das Gespenst des Verschwindens ein. Dabei hält Port of Memory nostalgisch an den Überresten einer verlorenen Vergangenheit fest, um sich gegen die Enteignung der palästinensischen Einwohner:innen und die Prozesse von Gentrifizierung und Neoliberalisierung zu wehren.”
︎︎︎https://alfilm.berlin/program/paradiso-xxxi-108/
︎︎︎https://alfilm.berlin/program/port-of-memory/
“PARADISO, XXXI, 108” FILM SCREENING
April 14th to 23rd 2023
︎︎︎Las Palmas Film Festival
“A través de toda una red de citas intertextuales, desde Borges hasta Alighieri, Kamal Aljafari crea un contrapunto conceptual a una serie de imágenes bélicas, extraídas de materiales de propaganda militar israelí de los años 60 y 70”.
︎︎︎https://www.lpafilmfestival.com/paradiso-xxxi-108/
“PARADISO, XXXI, 108” SCREENING
March 22nd, 20:30
︎︎︎Aflam Film Festival, Marseille
“A partir d’images détournées tirées d’un matériel de propagande militaire israélien des années 1960-1970, le film montre des hommes qui jouent à la guerre. Se référant par son titre à Borges et Dante qui discutaient l’impossibilité de connaître l’image de Dieu, Al Jafari dénonce en contrepoint la violence d’une armée qui se double d’une représentation d’elle-même.”
︎︎︎https://www.aflam.fr/mercredi-22-mars-i-20h30-i-paradiso-i-mucem-i-xxxi-108-foragers/
“PARADISO, XXXI, 108” FILM SCREENING
March 4th 2023
︎︎︎IFFA Independent Film Festival Athens, KINO Athens
“Culled from Israeli military propaganda materials from the ‘60s and ‘70s, Paradiso, XXI, 108 regards (with irony) towards a “cinematic self-portrait of men playing war”, to quote its author. Kamal Aljafari works here with a network of intertextual quotations––Sebald, Borges, Alighieri––to create a conceptual counterpoint to the images on the screen”.
︎︎︎https://www.kinoathens.org/paradiso
“A FIDAI FILM” FUNDING
︎︎︎Medienboard Berlin Brandeburg, Experimentalfilm
A Fidai Film is supported by the Experimentalfilm Program of Medienboard, in Berlin.
︎︎︎https://www.medienboard.de/en/foerderung-film/
“PARADISO, XXXI, 108” FILM EXHIBITION
March 3rd to 5th 2023
︎︎︎18th Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival, Berwick-upon-Tweed (UK)
“As chilling as it is absurd, Kamal Aljafari’s Paradiso repurposes found footage from Israeli military propaganda and turns it into a fictional drama of men playing at war. Aljafari takes the title from a short story by Borges and describes the work as a “cinematic self-portrait”––questioning our interpretation of screen violence, its relationship to real-world horrors, and troubling our positionality as spectators.”
︎︎︎https://bfmaf.org/programme/paradiso-xxxi-108/
“PARADISO, XXXI, 108” PRIZE
February 20th 2023
︎︎︎Preis der deutschen Filmkritik, Bester Experimentalfilm
“Paradiso, XXXI, 108” wins the prize for Best Experimental Film, given by the German Critics’ Association.
“Ohne Kommentar bilden die Ausschnitte aus israelischen Militär- Propagandafilmen ein farbenfrohes Kaleidoskop, das der Filmemacher mit elegischer, melodischer Musik zu einem präzise choreografierten Ballett komponiert. Durch die vorsichtig ausgewählten Einstellungen––das Bild oft herangezogen oder angeschnitten––rückt die ursprüngliche Intention des Materials in den Hintergrund, es erhält stattdessen eine neue Bedeutung. Kamal Aljafari hat seinem Experimentalfilm nicht nur den klangvollen, halb poetischen, halb wissenschaftlich klingenden Titel „Paradiso XXI, 108“ gegeben, zu dem ihn eine Kurzgeschichte von Borges inspiriert hat, er verfremdet die Bilder auch durch eine pastellige Einfärbung. Von ihrer verstörenden Wirkung haben sie damit dennoch nichts eingebüßt.“
︎︎︎https://www.vdfk.de/kategorie/preis-der-deutschen-filmkritik
“PARADISO, XXXI, 108” FILM SCREENING
January 31st 2023
︎︎︎Clermont ISFF, Lab Competition
︎︎︎https://clermont-filmfest.org/en/
“PARADISO, XXXI, 108” FILM SCREENING
January 26th to 04th February 2023
︎︎︎IFFR Rotterdam
︎︎︎https://iffr.com/en
“PARADISO, XXXI, 108” FILM SCREENING
October 22nd 2022
︎︎︎Viennale, Vienna
Aljafari’s new film takes its title from a brief story by Borges, one that considers our collective inability to know God by sight. To play against this concept, Aljafari presents footage of the Israeli military conducting maneuvers in the desert. The material itself is uncanny, since it is never entirely apparent whether we are watching documentary scenes, a staged training film, or decontextualized excerpts from a fictional feature. This aspect, heightened by Aljafari’s precise editing rhythms, suggests that violence is always doubled, a representation of itself. Aljafari peers into the collective unconscious of “the most moral army in the world.”
︎︎︎Michael Sicinski
This film will be shown as part of the screening SHORT FILM PROGRAMME 2: CRISES IN PARADISE.
︎︎︎https://www.viennale.at/de/film/paradiso-xxxi-108
“A FIDAI FILM” AT ATELIER 105 RESIDENCY
December 2022
︎︎︎Light Cone – Distribution, Exhibition and Conservation of Experimental Film, Paris
The participation of A Fidai Film has been announced as one of the selected projects for the second session of 2022 of the Atelier 105 Lauréats residency program.
︎︎︎https://lightcone.org/en/news-768-laureats-de-la-deuxieme-session-2022
“PARADISO, XXXI, 108” FILM SCREENING
November 26th 2022
︎︎︎FilmMakerFest Milan
Screening of Paradiso, XXXI, 108 in occasion of Milan FilmMakerFest.
︎︎︎https://www.filmmakerfest.com/FilmFestival/2344?fbclid=IwAR2Q7S0uyqxu87cA61Pvxc5fqtuJ-XeDsLGsoF6cS0SWJKS4oipn5Cm4iQs
“THE ROOF” FILM SCREENING
November 16th 2022︎︎︎LEFFEST’22 - Lisbon & Sintra Film Festival
The filmmaker shares everyday life with his parents and sisters in Ramle where he was born and where his father’s family comes from.
We learn the daily history together with the history of the Palestinians from Jaffa from the grandmothers’ memories about 1948. The film’s beginning and its end are framed by dialogues with another Palestinian friend with an Israeli passport - a young lady working in Jerusalem who wants to become a judge.
︎︎︎https://www.leffest.com/en/films/the-roof
FUTURESPECTIVES
︎︎︎75 Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland
Palestinian artist, film director, and producer Kamal Aljafari talks about his film "An Unusual Summer" created with footage from his father's surveillance camera, which, by trying to solve a mystery, captured the fascinating life of the community.
︎︎︎https://www.locarnofestival.ch/LFF/media/futurespectives-locarno-film-festival-podcast.html
“PARADISO, XXXI, 108” FILM SCREENING
September 27th to October 02nd 2022
︎︎︎BIEFF – Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival
Culled from Israeli military propaganda materials from the ‘60s and ‘70s, Paradiso, XXXI, 108 regards (with irony) towards a “cinematic self-portrait of men playing war”, to quote its author. Kamal Aljafari works here with a network of intertextual quotations – Sebald, Borges, Alighieri, themselves also “found” by the author – to create a conceptual counterpoint to the (fictional – what we see are exercises) images on the screen: “was then Your image like the image I see now?” (Dante). Like in Unusual Summer (2020), the filmmaker uses extradiegetic sound as a means of fictionalization (Silent Night, Handel’s Sarabande), proving his position as one of the most important found footage filmmakers of the moment.
︎︎︎Flavia Dima
︎︎︎https://bieff.ro/en/film/paradiso-xxxi-108-2/
“PARADISO, XXXI, 108” FILM SCREENING
September 30th to October 09th 2022
︎︎︎Black Canvas – Festival De Cine Contemporaneo, Mexico City
Paradiso, XXXI, 108 has been selected for the Beyond the Canvas Competition during the 6th edition of Black Canvas Contemporary Film Festival, taking place in Mexico City.
︎︎︎https://blackcanvasfcc.com/EN/film/65
“PARADISO, XXXI, 108” FILM SCREENING
September 16th 2022
︎︎︎CIFF – Camden International Film Festival, Points North Institute (USA)
Paradiso, XXXI, 108 will be screened, also with live Q&A, during Camden International Film Festival, taking place at the Points North Institute.
︎︎︎https://pointsnorthinstitute.org/films/paradiso-xxxi-108
“A FIDAI FILM” AT FINAL CUT
September 03rd to 04th 2022
︎︎︎79th Biennale Cinema, Venice
A Fidai Film has been selected for Final Cut that will be taking place at the 79th Venice Film Festival.
︎︎︎www.labiennale.org/en/news/final-cut-venice-8-work-progress-films-have-been-selec
24 HOURS TALK
August 2022
︎︎︎75 Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland
A 24h long continuous conversation about possible futures of attention at the Locarno Film Festival. 3 hosts and 24 invited experts speculate about emerging forms of attention for the duration of a day. In collaboration with Locarno Film Festival’s Basecamp and USI-Università della Svizzera italiana, post-doc at USI Locarno Film Festival Chair.
︎︎︎https://www.locarnofestival.ch/LFF/locarno75/locarno-extra/A-24h-long-talk-on-the-Future-of-Attention
“PARADISO, XXXI, 108” WORLD PREMIERE
August 9th to 11th 2022
︎︎︎75 Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland
The short film Paradiso, XXXI, 108 will be premiered at Pardi di Domani: Concorso Corti d’Autore and is eligible as “Locarno Short Film Candidate” for the European Film Awards.
You may find all the screening dates and details at the link below.
︎︎︎www.locarnofestival.ch/LFF/locarno75/program-75/ParadisoXXXI108
JURY AT PRINCÌPÎ AWARD
July 22nd to 30th 2022
︎︎︎Lago Film Fest, Revine Lago
Kamal Aljafari has been selected to be part of the jury for the Princìpî Award during the festival, alongside with Joana De Sousa and Kiro Russo.
+ TALK “Filming the Absent/Present” in dialogue with Alessandro del Re at BAREFOOT INDUSTRY DAYS
︎︎︎www.lagofest.org/portfolio_page/giuria-principi-award-lff2022/
RETROSPECTIVE “INDI-VISUAL 4–7” AND JURY
July 14th to 21st 2022
︎︎︎EXiS Experimental Film Festival, Seoul, Korea
Retrospective as part of the Indi-Visual 4–7 and jury during EXiS festival and screening of An Unusual Summer, It’s A Long Way From Amphioxus, Recollection, Port of Memory and The Roof.
︎︎︎https://ex-is.org/indivisual
WORKSHOP “THE NIGHT WORKSHOP”
May 30th to June 17th 2022
︎︎︎HEAD Cinéma Genève
Grand Atelier in Berlin with the students of the Film Department.
Final screening at Wolf Kino. June 17th at 2pm.
︎︎︎https://headcinema.ch/
WORKSHOP “FROM THE INTERIOR”
March 28th to 30th 2022
︎︎︎CineLab-IFILNOVA, Lisbon
Workshop From the Interior at “Mediating the Real. Philosophy and Documentary film” at New University of Lisbon.
︎︎︎https://ifilnova.pt/
QUMRA PLATFORM 2022
March 18th to 23rd 2022
︎︎︎Qumra Projects, Doha Film Institute
A Space for New Voices in Cinema, Qumra Projects.
Project in Post-production, A Fidai Film.
︎︎︎https://www.dohafilminstitute.com/films/a-fidai-film
25 ENCOUNTERS
March 4th 2022
︎︎︎IFFR Rotterdam Film Festival
Anniversary programme 25 Encounters presents 25 films selected by 25 pairs of cinephiles and filmmakers invited to discuss cinema, film festivals and art in its broadest form.
Stray Dogs by Tsai Ming-liang – Available in the Benelux
Selected by Rutger Wolfson and Kamal Aljafari.
︎︎︎https://iffr.com/en/blog/25-encounters
FILM SCREENING “RECOLLECTION”
March 2nd 2022
︎︎︎Rialécticas Film Festival, Guayaquil, Ecuador
This festival will open with a program of two sessions dedicated to ruined territories, articulated by the emanation of memories and ghosts through a radical use of the archive, presenting the film Recollection by Kamal Aljafari.
︎︎︎https://rialecticas.weebly.com
WORKSHOP “WAYS OF SEEING”
February 21th to 25th 2022
︎︎︎HEAD Genève – Haute école d’art et design
The workshop Ways of seeing is organized in collaboration with HEAD Cinéma Genève, and will be happening during “Semaine de tous les possibles”.
︎︎︎https://headcinema.ch/
MASTERCLASS
November 27th 2021, at 11:00 am
︎︎︎Spoutnik Cinema, Genève
This masterclass is organized in collaboration with HEAD Cinéma Genève and will be hosted in English by the Swiss director and director of HEAD Cinéma, Nicolas Wadimoff.
︎︎︎https://headcinema.ch/
︎︎︎https://palestine-fce.ch/films-evenements/masterclass-avec-kamal-aljafari/
FILM SCREENING “AN UNUSUAL SUMMER”
October 28th 2021
︎︎︎DOC, Buenos Aires
Movie screening of An Unusual summer during DOC Buenos Aires movie festival.
︎︎︎https://docbsas.com.ar/films/an-unusual-summer/
FOCUS ON KAMAL ALJAFARI
October 06th to 14th 2021
︎︎︎Olhar de Cinema, Brazil
This year’s Focus Section shines the spotlight on the work of Palestinian filmmaker Kamal Aljafari, whose latest feature film, An Unusual Summer (2020, 80′), makes its Brazilian debut at the 10th Olhar de Cinema after being shown at several renowned film festivals around the world.
︎︎︎www.olhardecinema.com.br/mostra-foco-kamal-aljafari/︎︎︎www.youtube.com/olhardecinema
ARTICLE “LAR ALÉM DO MAR”
October 15th 2021
︎︎︎Ensaio Critico
Article on Kamal Aljafari work, written in occasion of the 10th Olhar de Cinema, whose Focus Section highlighted his work.
︎︎︎www.ensaiocritico.com/post/kamal-aljafari-revisitando
ARTICLE “ELEGER A DISTÂNCIA PERFEITA”
October 13th 2021
︎︎︎Revista Cinética
Article on Kamal Aljafari’s An Unusual Summer, written in occasion of the 10th Olhar de Cinema.
︎︎︎http://revistacinetica.com.br/nova/juliana-um-verao-incomum-2021/
FILM SCREENING “AN UNUSUAL SUMMER”
September 30th 2021
︎︎︎Dom Radio, St. Petersburg
Russian premiere of “An Unusual Summer”, opening the new season of the film laboratory at Dom Radio, St. Petersburg.
︎︎︎https://musicaeterna.org/visit/event/unusual-summer-kamal-aljafari/
ONLINE TALK AND FILM SCREENING
September 14th 2021
︎︎︎Massachusetts College of Art and Design
The department of Film and Video at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design welcomes Kamal Aljafari to the MassArt Ciné Culture Screening series with a online screening of selected works, followed by a discussion and Q&A with Kamal Aljafari live on Zoom.
︎︎︎https://filmvideo.massart.edu/
︎︎︎https://blogs.massart.edu/macc/
︎︎︎www.eventbrite.com/e/massart-cine-culture-kamal-aljafari-tickets-170334800975
ONLINE FILM SCREENING “PORT OF MEMORY”
September 1st to 30th 2021
︎︎︎e-flux Video & Film
Join e-flux Video & Film for an online screening of Kamal Aljafari's Port of Memory (2010), streaming from Wednesday, September 1 through Thursday, September 30, 2021. The film is presented as part of the monthly series Staff picks.
︎︎︎www.e-flux.com/video/415040/port-of-memory/
︎︎︎www.e-flux.com/video/
EXHIBITION “HOW TO FIND MEANING IN DEAD TIME”
August 27th to September 12th 2021
︎︎︎SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin
The film An Unusual Summer is included in the exhibition How to find meaning in dead time reflects on some of the key issues surrounding the archive – its agency, inert and active modes of resistance, as well as its transformative potential in expanding personal and collective histories beyond the dominant conventions of constraint and erasure.
︎︎︎https://savvy-contemporary.com/en/projects/2021/how-to-find-meaning-in-dead-time/