In these confusing times, many misconceptions and stereotypes abound on Middle Eastern culture, Palestine in particular. In 2006, Palestinian advocate Hadeel Assali, along with a team of other Houston-based activists and film aficionados, conceived the idea for a film festival promoting Palestinian identity and culture.
In May 2007, in association with Voices Breaking Boundaries (VBB), a nonprofit arts organization headed by Hana El-Sahly and Iman Saqr, Assali’s idea became a reality with the first annual Houston Palestine Film Festival (HPFF). It was well received and because of its success, it has since become a regular event, now one of over 10 performance events produced annually by VBB.’
One of the most endearing aspects of the HPFF, as with all VBB events, is that it offers unique educational residencies and performances to local youth and adults not otherwise readily available, as well as providing a support network for writers to practice, publish, perform and receive recognition for their work.
More specifically, the festival brings an accurate and independent view of Palestinian society, culture and political struggles through the art of film; the major goal of the festival being to enlighten and rise above the degrading stereotypes and reductively politicized depictions of Palestinians.
The HPFF also aims to use artists and filmmakers’ perspectives as a first step toward circumventing the many government and media filters that pollute our understanding of Palestine and the wider region.
Kicking off the festival will be a live performance by Palestinian-American poet, author and political activist Suheir Hammad. The recipient of many awards, including a TONY in 2003, Hammad will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday at the El Dorado Ballroom.
The festival will begin at 7 p.m. the following evening at the Rice University Media Center with the screening of Salt of This Sea. The film tells the story of Soraya, a Brooklyn-born Palestinian who hopes to make a new life for herself. However, she quickly becomes disillusioned by the harsh realities of life in the beleaguered territories and teams up with another young Palestinian with his own dreams of escaping the country.
Other feature-length films being screened are the symbolic art film To My Father, the societal taboo-challenging Pomegranates and Myrrh, and the documentary Memory of the Cactus, which focuses on the 1967 relocation of the Palestinian villages of Latroun.
Pomegranates and Myrrh explores the cultural landscape of Ramalla, where Kamar, a free-spirited female dancer, finds herself the wife of a prisoner and separated from everything she cares for most until she returns to dance, defying society’s taboos. There she is confronted by Kais, her replacement as the head choreographer. Sparks soon fly between them, creating more than a passionate, emotional dance for the both.
Kamar’s life is thrown into turmoil as she becomes increasingly attached to Kais, and caught in the midst of her desire to dance and breaking the family and societal taboos of the wife’s role while life under occupation rages on.
The third annual Houston Palestine Film Festival runs April 16-18 and 24-25.’ Tickets are $7 each night for adults and $6 for students with ID, senior citizens and children. For more information, including a full rundown of this year’s events, visit http://www.hpff.org.
Third Annual Houston Palestinian Film Festival
7 p.m. April 16-18, 24-25
Rice Media Center
Tickets are $7 for adults, $6 for students with ID, seniors and children
More information can be found at http://www.hpff.org.
