This weekend the Palestinian Environmental Film Festival examines the impact of imprisonment on Palestinians’ social fabric, personal relationships and emotional landscapes with screenings of the penetrating documentary Degrees of Incarceration at Ithaca College and the internationally acclaimed feature film Pomegranates and Myrrh at Cinemapolis.
Degrees of Incarceration will be shown Friday, March 30, at 4pm, in Textor 102. Director Amahl Bishara, anthropology professor at Tufts University, argues that understanding the psychological impact of imprisonment on families is essential for understanding the social dynamics of Palestinian communities. Through observational footage and interviews of people living in Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, Degrees of Incarceration tells the stories of a mother whose sixteen-year-old son has been imprisoned and the Lajee Center, a youth organization that resists the imprisonment of its community members. Palestinian youth create and perform a play to teach the children in the refugee camp how to handle military interrogation. This screening is free and open to the public.
On Sunday, April 1, PEFF concludes with Pomegranates and Myrrh, which combines romance, drama and political commentary, at Cinemapolis at 2:20pm. Najwa Najjar’s feature film “challenges a series of taboos while foregrounding the experiences of women in the daily Palestinian struggle.” The plot follows a Palestinian dancer, Kamar, who struggles with wanting to pursue her creative journey and to be a good wife to her husband, Zaid, who is imprisoned for defending their land from confiscation. Following the screening, Ithaca College Politics professor Beth Harris and student Sara Fitouri will facilitate a discussion. Admission at Cinemapolis is $8 for student and $9.50 for general admission. For information about FLEFF passes, please go to https://www.ithaca.edu/fleff/festivalpasses/.
Pomegranates and Myrrh has been honored internationally by the ‘Screenplay Development Fund’ at the Amiens International Film Festival; four awards at the Festival de San Sebastian Cinema in Motion (2008); ‘Best Arab Film’ Audience Awards at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival (2009); the ‘Grand Prix’ at the Amal Arab European Film Festival (2009); ‘Best Actress’ and ‘Best Cinematographer’ at the Muscat International Film Festival (2010); and the Youssef Chahine ‘Grand Prix de Cinema’ and ‘Special Mention for Best Actress’ at the Festival International de Cinéma d’Auteur de Rabat (2010).
For a full schedule of PEFF events please go to icpeff.weebly.com.
Special thanks to FLEFF, the Ithaca College library, the School of Humanities and Sciences, Students for Justice in Palestine, Park Center for Independent Media, the Politics Department, and students of the “Seeking Sustainable Relationships Under War and Occupation” class.
For further information please email icpeff@gmail.com. Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Samantha Lowe at slowe1@ithaca.edu. Please make requests for accommodations as far in advance as possible.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/2012032922475480