Falastin Film Festival, Film

Jenin, Jenin جنين جنين

Falastin Film Festival 2025

(Fri 16 May: 5:30pm)

‘Where is God?’ an elderly man desperately wonders when surveying the debris in the Palestinian refugee camp Jenin. The film includes testimony from Jenin residents after the Israeli army’s Defensive Wall operation, during which the city and camp were the scenes of fierce fighting. The operation ended with Jenin flattened and scores of Palestinians killed. Palestinians as well as numerous human rights groups accused Israel of committing war crimes in the April 2002 attack on the refugee camp. Jenin Jenin shows the extent to which the prolonged oppression and terror has affected the state of mind of the Palestinian inhabitants of Jenin.

Bitterness and grief are the prevailing feelings among the majority of the population. Many have lost loved ones or are still searching for victims and furniture among the debris. A little girl, who does not seem to be much older than twelve, tells her story but knows no fear. The ongoing violence in her day-to-day life only nourishes her feelings of resistance and determination. The sad question forces itself on the spectator. What will become of a country, a people when its children are confronted with war and violence from a very early age? Directed and co-produced by Palestinian actor and director Mohamed Bakri.

Banned in “Israel”, this film is dedicated to Iyad Samoudi, the producer of the film, who returned home to Yamun after the shooting of the film was completed. On June 23, as Israeli forces besieged Yamun, Samoudi was shot and killed as he was leaving a military-closed area with three friends.

The film will be followed by a post-screening conversation with Mariam Barghouti (online).

Genre: Documentary | Year of Release: 2003 | Original Language: Arabic | Subtitles: English

~~~~~

Mariam Barghouti is a journalist, writer, and researcher based in Ramallah, occupied Palestine. She earned a BA in English Language and Literature from Birzeit University, and an MSc in Sociology and Global Change from the University of Edinburgh. She worked as a journalist and reporter with a focus on the Levant, and published various sociopolitical commentaries from Palestine. She has undertaken monitoring and evaluation missions of humanitarian and development aid in Jordan, Palestine, and Lebanon for various governmental and non-governmental organizations. Her reporting and analysis have been featured in Al-Jazeera English, the New York Times, the Guardian, BBC, and Middle East Eye, amongst others.

~~~~~

Falastin Film Festival (FFF) is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit collective of Palestinians and allies dedicated to bringing Palestinian art to Edinburgh and Highland audiences. Palestinians are often summed up as an ‘occupied people,’ and spoken for, though they have their own stories to tell. Using cinema as a tool of resistance the festival strives to decolonize the narrative and equip audiences with historical context. There is a desire to build community while celebrating Palestinian art and culture through cinema, music, cuisine, and other storytelling mediums. Scotland’s exposure to Palestinian society, art, culture, and humanity altogether remains rather limited. FFF hopes to fill this gap, using both classical and contemporary cinema primarily but not exclusively. They strive to highlight Palestinian steadfast resistance, cultural preservation, stories of love, and in the words of poet Rafeef Ziadah, teachings of life. In so doing, they offer a refreshing portrayal that encompasses the geographic, linguistic, and experiential diversity of the Palestinian people globally.

• Film
• £10.00
• 16 May 2025
• 120 minutes
• 17:30
• Scottish Storytelling Centre
• Netherbow Theatre
• 15+
• 
  Graphic violence, destruction