The Mission of the State of Palestine to Austria and Slovenia has participated in the “Mednarodi Film Fest Kranjska Gora” in Slovenia on the 2nd of August 2017.
In the second edition of the film festival 54 films from 19 countries were hosted for ten days of film screenings. The aim of the festival is to create an open cultural platform of dialogue in one of Slovenia’s most intriguing natural landscapes.
The young emerging festival and its active producers were very keen that a Palestinian presentation is participating in this year’s edition. The festival not only hosted films but also workshops, seminars, talks and a very vibrant cultural dialogue highlighting themes tackling human rights and art in conflict zones. The Palestinian participation stressed the essence of cultural dialogue and common grounds of understanding between Slovenia and Palestine.
In the presence of Ambassador Salah Abdel Shafi two Palestinian films were screened: “C the C”, a short film by Eyad Hourani and “Fishless Sea”, a documentary film by AlMalik AbuSidu. In their announcement of the films, the organizers of the film festival stated:
“Engaged movies are a kind of mirror to society: they have the power to actively critiquing society and activism itself, or give a valuable message. They open thematic spheres, repressed systematically by the ruling forces. If the pen is mightier than a sword, then the camera is more powerful than guns. Today we will screen movies which focus not only on disclosed and oppressed truth but also try to awaken the collective conscience.”
Both Palestinian films presented a sociopolitical perspective displaying the challenges of Palestinian livelihood under occupation and emphasized the value and true meaning of the “sea” for the Palestinian people. The two Palestinian contributions were well received and openly debated in the cultural venue of the film festival.
After his participation, Ambassador Salah Abdel Shafi stated: “As it was shown in the visual and printed publications, the Mission of the State of Palestine in Austria and Slovenia is a key partner in the Mednarodi Film Fest Kranjska Gora. We are already looking forward to the third edition of the film festival and the contribution of Palestine in 2018.”
Additional information:
Link zur Webseite Mednarodi Film Fest Kranjska Gora Trailer of the film "Fishless Sea":