A Fidai Film

"Images are not something that you make but something that you find." This concept is at the core of Kamal Aljafari's ideology, as he creates an immersive time-machine journey that reclaims stolen Palestinian heritage.

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Original title: A Fidai Film Year of Production: 2024 Duration: 78 min Country of Production: Palestine, Germany, Qatar, Brazil, France Languages: Arabic, Hebrew, English Subtitles: English Director: Kamal Aljafari Editor: Kamal Aljafari, Yannig Willmann Sound Design: Attila Faravelli, Jochen Jezussek Producer: Flavia Mazzarino, Kamal Aljafari

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The archive contained historical documents of Palestine, including a collection of still and moving images.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 is a poignant exploration of identity, memory, and resistance through a unique blend of documentary and experimental filmmaking techniques.

Thursday

September

15:00

A Fidai Film

30 min talk after screening

Vega Scene Sal 2

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Sunday

October

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Kamal Aljafari a Palestinian artist, film director and producer. His work has been shown at film festivals such as the Berlinale, Locarno, Viennale, Rotterdam, and museums such as the MoMA and Tate Modern.

Kamal Aljafari works with moving images, interweaving fiction, non-fiction, and art. His work proceeds from a belief in an exploration of cinema's power to bear witness. His work has been shown at various international film festivals and institutions. In 2021, he was a jury member for the Leopard of Tomorrow section of the 74th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland. He was a featured artist at the Robert Flaherty Film Seminar (New York, USA) and was a Fellow at Harvard University’s Radcliffe Institute and Film Study Center.

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“For a man who no longer has a country, to write becomes a place to live. For a Palestinian, the cinema is a country.”