UCSB’s Carsey-Wolf Center hosts the Social Impact Film Series, “Dreaming Palestine: Occupation, Exile, and Return” in February, 2015.
The series is comprised of three recent Palestinian films—WHEN I SAW YOU (dir. Annemarie Jacir, 2012), THE TIME THAT REMAINS (dir. Elia Suleiman, 2009), and MY LOVE AWAITS ME BY THE SEA (dir. Mais Darwazah, 2013)—and explores what it means to dream in Palestine today. Each of these films delves into a number of important questions. What is life like under occupation or in exile? What does it mean to return to Palestine, and what possible forms can return take? How can Palestinian dreams resonate across cultures and over continents, and how do they speak globally? Is hope still possible?
“Dreaming Palestine” will take place at UCSB’s Pollock Theater on February 12, 18, and 26. We strongly encourage you to attend one or all of these special events. Detailed information about all of these screenings is provided below.
Tickets are free, but reservations must be made in advance at the Pollock’s website, http://www.carseywolf.ucsb.edu/pollock/events/social-impact-cinema-dreaming-palestine-occupation-exile-and-return.
Co-sponsored by the Mellichamp Global Studies Initiative, the Center for Middle East Studies, the Department of Film and Media Studies, the Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies, and the Department of the History of Art and Architecture.
1. WHEN I SAW YOU (dir. Annemarie Jacir, 2012)
7:00 PM, Thursday, February 12
Synopsis: Winner of Best Asian Film at the Berlin International Film Festival, Best Arab Film in Abu Dhabi and Palestine’s 2013 Oscar Entry, Annemarie Jacir’s second feature film WHEN I SAW YOU takes place in 1967 Jordan when the world is alive with change: brimming with reawakened energy, new styles, music and an infectious sense of hope. In Jordan, a different kind of change is underway as tens of thousands of refugees pour across the border from Palestine. Having been separated from his father in the chaos of war, Tarek, 11, and his mother Ghaydaa, are amongst this latest wave of refugees. With difficulties adjusting to life in Harir camp and a longing to be reunited with his father, Tarek searches a way out, and discovers a new hope emerging with the times. Eventually his free spirit and curious nature lead him to a group of people on a journey that will change their lives.
To be preceded by video introduction recorded specifically for this occasion by writer-director Annemarie Jacir.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBXFBPwL8JI
Reserve your seat now: http://www.carseywolf.ucsb.edu/pollock/events/social-impact-cinema-dreaming-palestine-when-i-saw-you
2. THE TIME THAT REMAINS (dir. Elia Suleiman, 2009)
7:00 PM, Wednesday, February 18
Synopsis: Winner of the Jury Grand Prize at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and nominated for a Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, writer-director Elia Suleiman’s THE TIME THAT REMAINS is an intimate semi-biographical portrait of Palestinians living as a minority in their own homeland between 1948 and the present day. Inspired by his father’s diaries, letters his mother sent to family members in exile, and the director’s own recollections, the film recounts the saga of the filmmaker’s family in subtly hilarious vignettes.
To be followed by a panel discussion with Richard Falk (former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestinian Human Rights and current Fellow at the Orfalea Center of Global and International Studies) and Sherene Seikaly (UCSB Assistant Professor of History), moderated by Maryam Griffin (UCSB doctoral candidate in Sociology).
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjkFx4pMO78
Reserve your seat now: http://www.carseywolf.ucsb.edu/pollock/events/social-impact-cinema-dreaming-palestine-time-remains
3. MY LOVE AWAITS ME BY THE SEA (dir. Mais Darwazah, 2013)—California premiere
7:00 PM, Thursday, February 26
Synopsis: How do you return to a place that only exists in your mind? MY LOVE AWAITS ME BY THE SEA is a poetic documentary narrating the story of the director Mais Darwazah, who takes a first time journey back to her homeland, Palestine. She leaves a secluded reality and follows a lover whom she has never met, Hasan, a Palestinian artist, who unveils a beautiful and utopian world to her. Fairy tale and reality are woven together to question the elusiveness of place and the need to believe in dreams.
To be followed by an in-person discussion with director Mais Darwazah moderated by Nuha N.N. Khoury (UCSB Associate Professor of the History of Art and Architecture) and a reception.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-jdjcc0Shc
Reserve your seat now: http://www.carseywolf.ucsb.edu/pollock/events/social-impact-cinema-dreaming-palestine-my-love-awaits-me-sea
