Palestine Cinema Days Festival kicks off on Oct. 2

CAIRO - 3 October 2019: Palestine Cinema Days Festival kicked off on Wednesday, October 2 in the West Bank city of Ramallah with the participation of more than 60 feature films and documentaries.

The participating films are from Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco, France, Iran, Denmark, Kosovo, Albania, Afghanistan and the United States.

Organized by Film Lab-Palestine, the festival will be held in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Ramallah. The festival is supported by local and foreign institutions and will be held in six cities: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nablus, Gaza, Nazareth and Ramallah.

"This year we are celebrating a distinguished edition of the festival. The number of filmmakers from Palestine and the Arab world, who have left their mark in the cinema industry, is increasing, and the local and international demand on the Palestinian cause has become an inevitable reality," said Brigitte Bolad, executive director of the Film Lab-Palestine Foundation, at the opening.

In addition, the Palestinian prime minister stated, "Cinema contributes to the consolidation of the dimensions of the Palestinian cause: pain, hope, history, geography and national right. This cultural and art festival and everything that enhances the Palestinian cause will receive all possible support."

Furthermore, this year's edition of the festival includes a program entitled “Next Generation” that sheds light on children and family films. This is in addition to another program entitled “No Means No”, which deals with the image of women in cinema and the violence they face in society.

Also, the festival organized for the third consecutive year “The Forum of Filmmakers” with the participation of 50 prominent filmmakers.

It is worth mentioning that the festival specialized a competition titled “Palestinian Sunbird” for Palestinian films or films made in Palestine with the participation of 18 films. The screenings and activities of Palestine Cinema Days Festival will run until October 9.

Since 2014, Palestine Cinema Days (previously called Days of Cinema) has grown to be one of the most important pillars of the Palestinian film scene. Bringing together international and Palestinian film professionals is one of the festival’s main goals.

Palestine Film Meetings (PFM) is a creative platform to exchange and share ideas and visions, planting seeds for future collaborations.

Palestine Cinema Days was founded in the firm belief that cinema and culture are important tools for a more tolerant, and democratic society amidst the daily struggles Palestine experiences.

The films showing at Palestine Cinema Days each year offer an opportunity to see humankind without borders, reflecting on the state of man across societal and geographic boundaries.

They depict human conditions that every society grapples with. The films are a catalyst for debate and discussion, each offering an intimate portrait of life under various circumstances, and in different times and places. What unites them is their passionate cinematic gaze.