IPSC Jenin Jenin Screening - Solidarity with director Mohammad Bakri

dublin | arts and media | event notice Monday July 09, 2007 16:41 by IPSC - IPSC supportpalestine at ireland dot com 64 Dame Street, Dublin (01) 6770253

Palestinian film director's free speech rights under attack in Israel

In an act of solidarity the IPSC is screening embattled Palestinian-citizen-of-Israel Mohammad Bakri’s documentary Jenin Jenin in Dublin on Thursday 26th July (Teachers' Club, Parnell Sq, 7.30pm). Come along and show your opposition to this scandalous attempt to silence the victims of Israeli state terror, and those who highlight their suffering.

Solidarity with Mohammad Bakri - Jenin Jenin screening

What: Solidarity screening of Jenin, Jenin directed by Mohammad Bakri
Where: The Teachers' Club, Parnell Sq, Dublin
When: Thursday 26th July 2007 @ 7.30pm
Cost: Free Entry (though donations always gratefully accepted). Limited spaces so come early to avoid disappointment
Who: Organised by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign

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Acclaimed Palestinian actor and director Mohammad Bakri is one Israel’s most well-known citizens. He has acted in over a dozen films made by Israeli and international directors including “Hanna K” by Costa-Gavras and is well-known as a stage actor and director. But since producing a documentary (Jenin, Jenin) on Israel’s 2002 assault on the West Bank town of Jenin, Bakri has found himself virtually blacklisted in Israeli cinema, and now he even faces possible jail time for making the film.

In April 2002, the Israeli military killed 52 Palestinians, flattened over 150 buildings and closed off the camp for two weeks. Human rights groups (including Amnesty and Human Rights Watch) accused Israel of committing war crimes. The United Nations suspended its fact-finding mission after Israel refused to allow them entry. Bakri’s documentary Jenin, Jenin was one of the first to tell the stories of the town’s residents during the Israeli assault.

Despite receiving international acclaim and winning several awards, the film was initially banned in Israel until a reversal by the Israeli Supreme Court. Mohammad Bakri was then sued by five Israeli soldiers who were part of the military operation in Jenin. They allege that Bakri falsified information about them. However, the five soldiers are not shown or even mentioned by name in the film! He now faces fines and a jail term.

This is an outrageous attack on Mohammad Bakri’s free speech rights, as well as the right for Palestinian victims of Israeli aggression in the Occupied Territories to have their stories heard. In an act of solidarity the IPSC is screening Bakri’s documentary Jenin Jenin in Dublin on Thursday 26th July. Come along and show your opposition to this scandalous attempt to silence the victims of Israeli state terror, and those who highlight their suffering.

For more information on Bakri’s case see: http://tinyurl.com/37952g - [Interview with Bakri conducted by Amy Goodman of the Democracy Now! TV and radio show] and http://www.mohammadbakri.com

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Film Blurbs:

"Unfiltered and unvarnished...a testament to human dignity and strength." - Ali Abunimah - The Electronic Intifada

"I hope they will censor every film I do. I want them to understand my reality, another truth..." - Director Mohamed Bakri, in response to the ban of Jenin Jenin in Israel

Winner: 2002 Carthage International Film Festival - Best Film

Winner: International Prize for Mediterranean Documentary Filmmaking & Reporting

Jenin Jenin, directed and co-produced by Palestinian actor and director Mohamed Bakri, includes testimony from Jenin residents after the Israeli army's Defensive Wall operation, during which the city and camp were the scenes of fierce fighting. The operation ended with Jenin flattened and scores of Palestinians dead. Palestinians as well as numerous human rights groups accused Israel of committing war crimes in the April 2002 attack on the refugee camp. Jenin Jenin shows the extent to which the prolonged oppression and terror has affected the state of mind of the Palestinian inhabitants of Jenin.

Bitterness and grief are the prevailing feelings among the majority of the population. Many have lost loved ones or are still searching for victims and furniture among the debris. A little girl, who does not seem to be much older than twelve, tells her story but knows no fear. The ongoing violence in her day-to-day life only nourishes her feelings of hatred and the urge to take revenge. She tells what she would do to Prime Minister Sharon if he visited the camp and she shouts that the Palestinians will never give up the struggle. They will keep on producing children, who can continue the fight against injustice.

Initially banned in Israel, Jenin Jenin is dedicated to Iyad Samoudi, the producer of the film. On June 23, as Israeli forces besieged Yamun, Samoudi was shot and killed as he was leaving a military-closed area with three friends.

About the Director Mohamed Bakri

Mohamed Bakri is best known as an actor and star of Palestinian and Israeli films such as The Milky Way, The Tale of Three Jewels, Haifa, and World Cup. He also starred in Costa-Gavras' 1983 film, Hanna K. He won wide acclaim and an award for his role in the stage production of Death and the Maiden at the Carthage festival in Tunis in 1997. He was also nominated as Best Actor by the Israeli Film Academy for his role in 2000’s Kikar Ha-Halomot (Desperado Square). Bakri’s directorial resume` includes Jenin, Jenin and the documentary 1948. Following Jenin Jenin’s ban by the Israeli Film Ratings Board (the first since 1987), Mohamed Bakri filed an appeal to Israel’s Supreme Court to overturn the ruling which was ultimately successful.

Flier: Solidarity with Mohammad Bakri - Jenin Jenin screening 1 Mb