Back by popular demand this year is the Boston Palestine Film Festival (BPFF). Established in 2007, this cultural extravaganza showcases the extraordinary narrative, history, culture, and lived realities of the Palestinian people through the medium of cinema to the New England public. Stop by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston during the week of October 1-10 for a wide range of compelling documentaries, dramatic features, animated films, rare early works, and new films by emerging artists, all focused on Palestinian society, politics, and narrative.
The festival opens at 7 p.m. on the 1st with the film Zindeeq, the first film in 14 years by acclaimed Palestinian director Michel Khleifi, winner if the Muhr Arab Award for Best Feature Film at the 7th International Dubai Film Festival in 2009. Following the film, Khleifi will speak at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, at a reception for filmmakers and film-lovers alike also featuring live music, wine and cheese, and hors d’oeuvres.
Canticle of the Stones, a poetic love story also directed by Michel Khleifi in 1990 shows on Saturday, October 2, at 3 p.m. at the Harvard Film Archive. The 2009 film Jaffa the Clockwork’s Orange, directed by Eyal Sivan and Asher Saraga, will be featured on October 3 at 7 p.m. at MFA, and Julia Bacha’s 2010 film, Budrus, chronicling a Palestinian village’s struggle in resisting the occupation and continued colonization of its lands, will also play at MFA on October 8 at 8 p.m. Finally, Port of Memory, the quiet and poetic telling of the emptying of Jaffa by director Kamal AlJafari, will close the festival on October 10 at 7 p.m., also at MFA. Animated discussions with the directors follow all film screenings; visit the Museum of Fine Arts website for ticket information.
In addition to the ticketed screenings, don’t miss a discussion panel — The Future of Palestinian Cinema — on Saturday, October 2 at 5 p.m. at the Harvard Film Archive. This event is free and open to the public, featuring all the directors of the the films presented at the festival. Moderating the discussion will be Dr. Kamran Rastegar, Assistant Professor of Arabic and Director of the Arabic Program at Tufts University.
The film fest also features comedy routines; check out the “Arabs Gone Wild! Stand-up Comedy Tour,” starring two Palestinian comedians, among others. The hilarious show delves into politics and pop culture, and Arab topics ranging from dating customs to time. It will be appearing at the Wilbur Theatre on October 9 at 7 p.m. Click here for more information and ticket prices.
For a complete listing of the film events at this year’s extravaganza, get linked up here.
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