For a “New Palestine Cinema” part 1

Blown by the Wind
Jacques Madvo. 1971, 18′

How do children experience war and its consequences? For half a century, the children of Palestine have been in dialogue with an aching imagination.

A series of drawings painted by Palestinian children come to life. The images restore a glimpse into their daily lives, memories and imaginations after the 1967 Six-Day War.
Jacques Madvo (1924-2014) was an Armenian filmmaker who grew up in Lebanon. After studying filmmaking at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC), he began working as a director with the United Nations (UNRWA) in Beirut.

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A Zionist Aggression
Mustafa Abu Ali. 1972, 21′

To what extent can the act of a terrorist group be justified? Israel’s response to Munich 1972 is a disproportionate bombing of civilians.

After the terrorist action against the Israeli sports delegation at the Olympics in Munich, Germany, on September 8, 1972, Israel launched retaliatory raids against Palestinian camps in Syria and Lebanon, hitting in particular the Nabatiyeh camp and the Syrian village of Da’al. The film shows, without commentary, the extent of the brutality and barbarity of this bombing.

Mustafa Abu Ali was born in 1940 in Maliha, Palestine, and is a director and producer. He is considered one of the founders of Palestinian cinema. In 1973, he helped establish the “Palestinian Cinema Group” to promote the development of films in support of national resistance.

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Revolution Until Victory
AKA We are the Palestinian People
Pacific Newsreel. 1973, 52′

A collage of archival materials reconstructs the history of Palestine: memory becomes a political act.

Made by a detached faction of the U.S.-based Pacific Newsreel collective, the film is a cinematic act of transnational solidarity. It collects archival clips in a detailed historical reconstruction, with attention to the political genesis of Zionism. It emphasizes the role of colonial Britain in assigning Palestine to the Zionists and highlights how, ever since, Israel has strategically controlled the world’s most sought-after commodity: oil.