The Void Project
This programme contains 4 films.
The Void Project looks at the effect of the absence of Palestinian visual archives on the construction of a Palestinian visual narrative. The project was founded by Palestinian documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, producer and writer Azza El-Hassan, whose documentary films mostly reflect her experience living in exile and her experience living in Palestine. In this programme, El-Hassan brings together a selection of films produced by the Palestine Film Institute in Jordan and Lebanon during the revolutionary years of Palestinian Cinema. These films are a testimony to both the history of international solidarity with Palestine, as well as the ongoing struggle for a self determined Palestinian narrative. — Jemma Desai
The screening at the Maltings will be introduced by Sheyma Buali, a programmer, producer and writer and member of the London Palestine Film Festival programming team since 2011.
In this Programme:
The Fifth War
(Monica Maurer, Samir Nimr, 1980, 66)The Urgent Call of Palestine
(Ismail Shammout, 1973, 4)Glows of Memories
(Ismail Shammout, 1975, 10)Road to Palestine
(Layaly Badr, 1985, 7)Filming Palestine in the Present
by Azza El Hassan
The Fifth War
Fronted by Vanessa Redgrave and narrated entirely in English, The Fifth War gives a visceral account of the 1978 ‘Litani Operation’, in which Israeli forces invaded south Lebanon aiming to eradicate the PLO.
A war documentary that stands as an example of both the possibilities of international solidarity and also its dangers. Co-directed by an Iraqi and German filmmaker and starring a British actress, its proximity to the violence of the Litani Operation resulted in the loss of two of its members during filming. —Jemma Desai
Monica Maurer (Germany) is an independent filmmaker. Maurer originally studied Sociology and Communication Sciences in Munich and Berlin at University. She later worked as a journalist for several newspapers in Germany and for the US-based radical magazine “Ramparts”. Maurer has been making films since the 60s. Between 1977 and 1982 she made films in cooperation with the Palestinian Cinema Institution and the Information Department of the PRCS. Currently she is working on digitising her film archive and on a film project-in-progress entitled SHOOTING REVOLUTION. She is also a member of the Board of Archive of the Working Class Movement (AAMOD).
Filmography
Palestine in Flames (1988/89), Listen! (1985), War Lab (1984), Why? (1982), ASHBAL-Pulse of Life (1981), YOM AL ARD (1981), Born out of Death (1981), The Fifth War (1980), Children of Palestine (1979), Palestine Red Crescent (1978)
Director
Monica Maurer, Samir Nimr
Production Countries
German Democratic Republic PalestineProduction Year
1980Duration
66 mins
Dialogue Languages
Arabic EnglishSubtitle Language
EnglishPrint Contact
Monica Maurer
The Urgent Call of Palestine
In this short film, Shammout records a solidarity song by the Palestinian Egyptian singer Zeinab Shaath announcing the urgent call of Palestine. The song is punctuated by the words of poet Kamal Nasser, which continue to hold striking relevance today. —Jemma Desai
Ismail Shammout (1930 – 2006, Palestine) was a painter, art historian and filmmaker. He is known as a pioneer of modern Palestinian art. Living through the 1948 Palestinian exodus (Nakba) and facing exile from Palestine, Shammout depicted the many struggles he faced throughout his artistic career. Shammout and his family marched from his hometown, Lydda, to the Khan Younis camp in Gaza when the artist was eighteen. This experience shaped the life of the artist as he became actively involved in regional politics. He graduated from the College of Fine Arts in Cairo (1950) and later from the Academia De Bella Arti in Rome (1954). Shammout was part of the Palestine Exhibition of 1954 in Cairo, inaugurated by president Gamal Abdel Nasser. Shammout became the Director of Arts and National Culture for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1965. The PLO awarded him the Revolutionary Shield for Arts and Literature, the Jerusalem Medal for Culture, Arts and Literature, and The Palestine Prize for the Arts. The Arab Thought Forum awarded him The Creative Prize for Arab Painting. An annual prize in his name is awarded for excellent Palestinian painting. His works have been acquired by several Arab and international museums.
Filmography
Glows of Memories (1975), The Urgent Call of Palestine (1973)
Director
Ismail Shammout
Production Country
PalestineProduction Year
1973Duration
4 mins
Dialogue Language
EnglishSubtitle Language
EnglishGlows of Memories
Ismail Shammout, a Palestinian painter, also served as director of the Cultural Arts Section of the PLO and worked with the organization’s Film Unit in the 1970s. In this one of his few film works he unravels the memories within his painting Memories and Fire.
Using a non verbal style utilised by early Soviet filmmakers, comprising archival photographs and Shammout’s own paintings, a story of Palestinian experience and resistance is communicated across language boundaries. —Jemma Desai
Ismail Shammout (1930 – 2006, Palestine) was a painter, art historian and filmmaker. He is known as a pioneer of modern Palestinian art. Living through the 1948 Palestinian exodus (Nakba) and facing exile from Palestine, Shammout depicted the many struggles he faced throughout his artistic career. Shammout and his family marched from his hometown, Lydda, to the Khan Younis camp in Gaza when the artist was eighteen. This experience shaped the life of the artist as he became actively involved in regional politics. He graduated from the College of Fine Arts in Cairo (1950) and later from the Academia De Bella Arti in Rome (1954). Shammout was part of the Palestine Exhibition of 1954 in Cairo, inaugurated by president Gamal Abdel Nasser. Shammout became the Director of Arts and National Culture for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1965. The PLO awarded him the Revolutionary Shield for Arts and Literature, the Jerusalem Medal for Culture, Arts and Literature, and The Palestine Prize for the Arts. The Arab Thought Forum awarded him The Creative Prize for Arab Painting. An annual prize in his name is awarded for excellent Palestinian painting. His works have been acquired by several Arab and international museums.
Filmography
Glows of Memories (1975), The Urgent Call of Palestine (1973)
Director
Ismail Shammout
Production Country
PalestineProduction Year
1975Duration
10 mins
Road to Palestine
Seven-year-old Layla lives in a refugee camp outside Palestine. Her father was killed and she was badly injured from an air raid. We share the life of Layla and her friends, who tell us how they imagine Palestine despite them having never seen it. —Jemma Desai
Layaly Badr wrote children’s stories before she turned to filmmaking. She studied filmmaking in Germany and screenwriting at the New York Film Academy. Badr has been awarded several awards for her films and television work and published two books, Lobana Wal Qamar and Nahr Wa Shajara. Her films are distinguished musicals, combining live action with animation. Badr was the head of ART Children’s Channel before moving into the cinema industry as a producer and distributor. She worked as a managing director in the two biggest networks in the Middle East: ART and Rotana. She has also worked as a consultant for two of Egyptian networks: Al Nahar and ON TV.
Filmography
Road to Palestine (1985)
Director
Layaly Badr
Production Countries
German Democratic Republic PalestineProduction Year
1985Duration
7 mins
Dialogue Language
ArabicSubtitle Language
EnglishLive Event — 25 September 2021, 15:00
Essential Cinema: The Void Project Lecture / Performance
Filmmaker and founder of The Void Project, Azza El-Hassan will be in conversation with Sheyma Buali, Director of the London Palestine Film Festival, discussing the role of archives and image making in Palestine.→