Direct Engagement: New Digital Films from Palestine and Lebanon

April 6, 2008 - April 6, 2008

The Roof

This series explores the vitality and diversity of documentary and experimental filmmaking in Lebanon and Palestine today. The first two programs take place at the PFA Theater, with additional events presented on the UC Berkeley campus and in San Francisco. On Monday, April 7, the Film Studies Department presents Searching for Our Destination: Films, Politics, Discussion with visiting artists Ayreen Anastas and Rene Gabri of the 16 Beaver St. Collective. (For more information, see the Film Studies Department website at http://filmstudies.berkeley.edu/news_events.html.) On Wednesday, April 9, kino21 presents Palestine: Interior/Exterior, a repeat of Kamal Aljafari’s The Roof with additional local work. (For more information, see the kino21 website at http://www.kino21.org.)

Sunday, April 6, 2008
3:30 p.m. Summer of War: Lebanon 2006
Five recent films forcefully articulate personal and collective experiences of the war in Lebanon.

Sunday, April 6, 2008
5:30 p.m. The Roof
Kamal Aljafari in Person. Palestinian director Aljafari’s eloquent exploration of physical and psychic place. With short Visit Iraq.

Series curated by Irina Leimbacher and Jeffrey Skoller. Presented with the generous support of the Al-Falah Grant Program of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Film Studies Program, Consortium for the Arts, and the Graduate Film Working Group, all at UC Berkeley. We gratefully acknowledge Rasha Salti, Livia Alexander, and ArteEast, as well as the Arab Film Festival, for their assistance.