Palestinian Cinema: An Impetus for Productive Conversations

As Odeh revealed in his interview, their film festivals extend beyond the mere projection of the film, the full experience of their festivals is completed by the conversations. When people watch these stories, they even feel propelled by initial feelings of self-satisfaction as the mere act of watching Palestinian films can be viewed as a form of activism. As such, these stories prompt individuals to explore their curiosity, expand the discourse around the subject which not only educates viewers on the Palestinian experience but also—crucially—begs them to care. This specificity of film, the ability to connect to spectators, is precisely what makes it dangerous for those in power. For this reason, freedom of expression is not always guaranteed for such kinds of cinema, an industry that often faces intense state scrutiny and different kinds of censorship. In the case of Cine-Palestine, censorship escalated following the attacks of October 7. Social media platforms such as Facebook censored the advertisements of their events and did not allow them to either publish or reach the expected amount of audience.

Furthermore, Odeh tells us, the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte-D’Azur (PACA) in the south of France had blocked their funding. This meant that their association no longer had the means to continue showcasing films as they used to. In this instance the loss of funding acted as another form of censorship; the PACA region further falsely accused their association of supporting terrorism and antisemitism, an unfounded claim that tried to frame the diffusion of culture as a hateful act to dissuade audiences from interacting with Palestinian media. The false dichotomy of supporting Palestinian culture or rights being equated to the support of extreme violence and terrorism against the Jewish population is incredibly dangerous as it hinders dialogue. In my eyes, fighting for Palestinian rights through their culture goes hand in hand with ensuring the safety of the Jewish population and preserving their culture and religion: solidarity is a universal value. A people exposing the violence of their occupation by a state and military entity should not be equated to racism towards other people, the two are extremely distinct, and the false dichotomy paints both sides in a bad light whilst unfairly instrumentalizing the suffering of the Jewish people in the process. It is this false dichotomy that blinds people in such polarized situations and leads to fear of dialogue and tunnel vision. 

Odeh expressed that these tensions make them “afraid of doing anything”, a context where even raising the Palestinian flag was under legal scrutiny. Cine-Palestine has previously experienced hateful acts not only towards their association but even Palestinian actors participating in their events. For instance, Mohammed Backrie, who played a role in Jenin, Jenin (2003) was attacked in front of a cinema theatre. In these instances, Odeh communicated that they had to constantly remind people that their work is about art and culture, and that Palestinians have a right to be artists and a right to culture. The right to participate in cultural life and the right to protection of the moral and material interests of artistic production are indeed international human rights for all human beings as stipulated under Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Restricting Palestinians from their artistic freedom is a violation of our collective responsibility to protect human rights. Undue censorship of content should always be rejected as it can always lead to a ripple effect to oppress other marginalized groups in the future. And, although it may seem small or insignificant, merely watching and disseminating these kinds of films, conversing and most importantly, listening, is in itself a resistance towards the undemocratic practice of censorship. 

Currently, conversations surrounding the situation in Palestine privilege political actors, whether that be Hamas, or Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF. These conversations have progressively shifted from human lives to statistics, or political and military strategies. I believe that we must take a step back. Before all, when we talk about Palestine, we are talking about humans, their lives and their rights. For this reason, it is crucial to first focus on individuals, their cultures, their stories and experiences and ground ourselves before viewing them as mere numbers. Our conversations should not be centered around a dichotomous polarization but try to listen to the affected souls. Once we begin to empathize with the lived experiences of real persons in these contexts, once we view a people as human, it becomes more difficult to process them getting bombed, losing their loved ones, or lying under the rubble. Emotional connection to a cause is the ingredient lacking in current media discourse and cinema is where it can be found. These films can remind us that before anything, an individual’s right to life and human dignity should be protected at all costs—especially before any political will or affiliation.