In April, AFLAMUNA.online presents five feature films from Lebanon, Egypt, Tunis, and Palestine, including the documentary "Children of Shatila" by Mai Masri, in partnership with the Aswat Festival.
Children of Shatila
Farah and Issa, two children living in Beirut's Palestinian Shatila refugee camp, use their imaginations and creativity to come to terms with the realities of growing up in a refugee camp that has survived massacre, siege, and starvation.
The filmmaker gives Issa and Farah a small video camera to film their lives and learn how they see their own world. Both children start asking their elders how they feel about forcibly leaving Palestine. When queried about what he wants to tell the new generation of Palestinians, an old man asks that Palestine must never be forgotten. "Promise me that," he tells the children.
"Children of Shatila" -produced in 1998- commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 1948 Palestinian Nakba and explores how memory is passed on from generation to generation through the eyes of Palestinian children born in exile.
*In partnership with Aswat festival
The Soil and The Sea
In Lebanon, more than 100 untouched mass graves dating back from the Civil War, and thousands of families awaiting a missing relative or at least a bone to bury. The Soil and the Sea unveils the violence lying beneath a garden, a school, a cafe, a hotel, and other unremarkable landscapes. As the camera interrogates these everyday spaces, voices fill them with erased stories.
More than 30 years after the end of the war, families in Lebanon have been unable to find answers about the fate of their loved ones. However, the creation of a National Commission for the Disappeared in 2020 has injected new hope that these sites will be investigated and that remains will one day be returned to families awaiting a bone to bury. This documentary is the first record of these sites, threatened by neglect, real estate developments, and oblivion.
Those Who Remain
"Shambouq", one of the highest barren areas in Lebanon, is Haykal's home. Nestled in the Akkar Heights, a few kilometers from Syria, this geographical spot is where Haykal has chosen to settle, establish a farm and a restaurant, and build his house.
Despite the daily challenges of nearby crushers' dust, the recession of agricultural seasons, and sectarian tensions, Haykal's resolve has never been stronger. He sees his role today as more significant than ever: to stay, preserve, and protect his project and to safeguard coexistence with his unwavering hands working the land he cherishes.
Mapping Lessons
In "Mapping Lessons" we travel with K through time and place to the Middle East being colonized. This essay film puts struggles in conversation, from the early days of the Soviets, 1936 Spain, the Vietnamese resistance, and the Paris Commune to the Syrian Revolution in 2011. All aiming to prepare us for the next time.
Cursed Be the Phosphate
In 2008, residents of Redeyef, a Tunisian city heavily reliant on phosphate production, rose against state corruption and the dire, unhealthy, and perilous conditions of their existence. This revolt marked the first significant protest movement against Ben Ali's oppressive regime and its police state despite facing brutality and tyranny in response. While not a complete success, it ignited a spark of resistance among the Tunisian people, awakening them to the deteriorating levels of freedom. This uprising paved the way for the 2011 revolution and the Arab Spring.