Mittwoch, 1.2.2012, 19 Uhr
Mittwoch 1. Februar 2012, 19 Uhr
Amerling Haus, Stiftgasse 8, 1070 Wien
“Being With Juliano”, Palestine 2011, 26 min., Director: Emtiaz Diab
“Being with Juliano” is not a biography of Juliano Mer-Khamis. It is a testament to what Juliano did to empower youth and give hope. His accomplishments will not die with him. The film gives a voice to those who were inspired by his principles and devotion and stimulated by his energy and creativity. We see Juliano’s students, colleagues and friends speaking about his life, legacy and commitment. Saleh Bakri describes him as a magician. Clara Khouri says he was a clown and insane, while other interviewees tell of his mad, tireless work in his theatre project. The focus of “Being with Juliano” is on the multiple dimensions of change Juliano brought to the deprived and impoverished young people in Jenin.
“Like Twenty Impossibles”, Palestine 2003, 17 min., Director: Annemarie Jacir
“Like Twenty Impossibles” is the work of Annemarie Jacir, (“Salt of the Sea”), co-written with Kamran Rastegar. Jacir is a Palestinian filmmaker, activist, and poet living between New York City and Palestine. The 17-minute short documentary tells the story of a journey in a country where checkpoints and a sinister patchwork of controlled areas make freedom of movement itself impossible.
Occupied Palestine: A serene landscape now pockmarked by military checkpoints. When a Palestinian film crew decides to avert a closed checkpoint by taking a remote side road, the political landscape unravels, and the passengers are slowly taken apart by the mundane brutality of military occupation. Both a visual poem and a narrative, “Like Twenty Impossibles” wryly questions artistic responsibility and the politics of filmmaking.
The credits end with an excerpt of poetry from “We Shall Remain” by Tawfiq Zayyad, 1965:
It is a thousand times easier for you
To pass an elephant through the needle’s eye.
To catch fried fish in the Milky Way…
A thousand times easier
Than smoldering with your oppression
The spark of an idea
Like twenty impossibles
We shall remain.
In 2003, “Like Twenty Impossibles” received the “Best Film” award at the Palm Spring Festival of Film Shorts, and “Best Short Film” award at the Independent Film Project New York Market. It was a New York Regional finalist in the Alternative Category for the 30th Student Academy Awards.
*Veranstaltet von Frauen in Schwarz (Wien) in Kooperation mit dem Kulturverein Spittelberg*