Palestinian Cinema

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Palestinian Cinema
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Post-War of 1948

• The loss over control of Palestine was a major
  blow to all Muslims, leaving much of Jerusalem
  under Jewish control.
• Ever since then the Palestinians have been unable
  to live their normal lives. Many parts of
  Jerusalem where now restricted to Jews alone.
• A common theme of movies from this period is to
  deal with issues such as a search of a national
  identity and of persecution by the Jews.

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Elia Suleiman

• Born in Nazareth in 1960
• He moved to New York in 1981, where he directed
  his first two short-films.
• In 1993 he moved back to Palestine in search of
  his roots and of inspiration. There he was asked
  by the European Commission to start up the media
  and film department at Birzeit University.
• Elia prefers the use of amateur actors, and in
  both of his full-feature films he cast himself as
  the main character, giving his work a
  documentary-like feel.

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Suleimans Filmography

• Divine Intervention (2002) Cannes Film
  Festival 2002 Jury Award
• Chronicle of a Disappearance (1997) Venice Film
  Festival 1996 Best First Feature Award
• War and Peace in Vesoul (1997)
• The Gulf War... What Next? (1993)
• Introduction to the End of an Argument (1990)

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Chronicle of a Disappearance

• Suleimans first full-length movie
• He explores the effects that the Jewish
  occupation of what is now Israel has had on the
  Palestinian people, criticizing what he sees
  through the use of satire.
• The film is broken up into two parts The first
  is a window into the everyday family life of
  Palestinians in Nazareth. Tiny imperfections in
  his culture are exposed and ridiculed. The
  second part has more of a political approach, the
  main focus being on Jerusalem. Scenes of police
  corruption and segregation show social injustices
  instilled on the Palestine people.
• Surprisingly, his film was intensely criticized
  by radical Arabs for the fact that Suleiman
  acknowledges the existence of Israel as a nation
  in it.