- Title: JORDAN-FILM/PALESTINIANS Filmmaker documents story of uprooted Palestinian family
- Date: 24th August 2015
- Summary: AMMAN, JORDAN (AUGUST 22, 2015) (REUTERS) DOCUMENTARY DIRECTOR, AHMAD RAMAHI, ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FILM DIRECTOR, AHMAD RAMAHI, SAYING: "The film tells the story of the Ramahi family, one of Palestinian refugee families, who were from the village of al Mzeira. I was inspired to work on this after my grandmother and father passed away, so I felt there was no one left to tell the story. I thought it was important to interview people because the generation that lived in Palestine is beginning to die out, even the accents are dying out."
- Embargoed: 8th September 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Jordan
- Country: Jordan
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA1QE4FO84VKUWC0B4XSM0BL0T0
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A documentary entitled "Story of a Nation" was screened in Amman on Saturday (August 22).
Directed by Ahmed al-Ramahi, the film attempts to bring to life the vivid history of the Palestinian village of al Mzeira and its inhabitants to a new generation.
"The film tells the story of the Ramahi family, one of Palestinian refugee families, who were from the village of al Mzeira," said Ramahi.
"I was inspired to work on this after my grandmother and father passed away, so I felt there was no one left to tell the story. I thought it was important to interview people because the generation that lived in Palestine is beginning to die out, even the accents are dying out," the director said.
Finding archive footage and making it fit for the screen was one of the greatest challenges in making this film, according to the director.
But the final production was able to address various aspects of village life in the years before the creation of Israel in 1948, when the Ramahi family left their home. Marriage customs and traditions, food, transportation, and education were all touched upon.
The film tells the story of Mzeira, the hometown of Ramahi family.
Along with archival footage, the director included Skype videos of Ramahi family members around the world, curious to know more about their their roots.
The older Ramahis try to answer some of the questions in the film, recounting the history of the village.
One of them is Shawki Ramahi. He said he was happy to see the family's story immortalised on the screen.
"We refuse to be quiet, and we refuse to give up our rights. We will fight and teach the newer generations, and each generation will teach the next. This film tells of some of the events and documents them, so that the next generation will be informed, and know that they had a beloved homeland," he said.
As the 90-minute film came to a close, the audience, many of them dressed in tradition Palestinian robes, broke into applause and ululated.
"I am now connected to my history more than I was before, and my connection to my land the the hope of return is also stronger than before," said one of the viewers, Rana Ramahi.
Director Ramahi said he hopes that his film will reach a large audience, one that extends beyond his family to include other Palestinians and Arabs across the world. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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