The fate of a Palestinian girl forced into exile during Israel’s 1948 War of Establishment has been given new life in a film screened at the Palestine Film Days festival on November 11, Reuters reported.
Hundreds of spectators gathered at the festival’s closing ceremony in the West Bank city of Ramallah on November 7 to see Farhu, a film inspired by the true events of the conflict that occurred more than 70 years ago.
In a historic event known to Palestinians as the “Nakba” or “catastrophe”, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were uprooted from their homes.
“This is a special moment for all of us to show a film in Palestine to a Palestinian audience”– said Dima Azar, one of the producers of the film.
Jordanian director and screenwriter Darin J. Sallam created a story about a woman her mother met decades ago in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Syria. He later lost contact with her and it is unclear where she is now or if she is still alive.
According to Azar, the team felt that making a Nakba-themed film would be a challenge, but they continued: “because we knew it was an important story”.
The festival, now in its ninth year, was organized by Film Lab: Palestine, which cultivates film culture and supports Palestinian filmmakers. It kicked off on November 1 with Maha Hajj of Nazareth’s 2023 Oscar-nominated drama Mediterranean Fever.
The week-long program drew thousands of guests and screened 58 films in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and cities across Israel separated by checkpoints and travel restrictions that prevent many from leaving their neighborhoods.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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