- Title: West Bank mobile cinema brings films to local communities
- Date: 28th September 2016
- Summary: JORDAN VALLEY, WEST BANK (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ORGANIZING CREW OF 'AREA C MOBILE CINEMA' PROJECT NEAR VAN, PREPARING FOR NIGHT FILM SCREENING CHILDREN AT SCENE JORDAN VALLEY, WEST BANK (RECENT) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) SCREEN SHOWING LOGO OF 'AREA C MOBILE CINEMA' PROJECT FILM PRODUCER AND EVENT ORGANIZER, MAY ODEH, WALKING NEAR AUDIENCE WHO ARE SEATED FOR FILM (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) EVENT ORGANIZER, MAY ODEH, SAYING: "Cinema is not only for cities and for the people who always have access to cultural events. We have to go out and visit the people in abandoned areas who are not listed neither on the political map nor on the cultural map. So we said that we want to bring the screens, films and filmmakers to be at the villages in the areas that are always targeted by the Israeli occupational forces like the Jordan Valley which are considered to be Area C." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WATCHING FILM JIFTLEK RESIDENT, OTHMAN AL-ONOUZ, WATCHING FILM (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) JIFTLEK RESIDENT, OTHMAN AL-ONOUZ, SAYING: "In the Jordan Valley we don't have a cinema, so we wait for these days for such projects and culture to get educated. Because the Jiftlek area is far from cities and we cannot go at night to the Cinema. This educates them and gives them serenity." BOY WATCHING FILM PEOPLE DURING FILM SCREENING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RESIDENT, EMAN SAWAFTA, SAYING: "Its important for us since this will educate us because our village doesn't have any events or cinema. We are happy that we came here to watch a film about Mohammad Assaf's (Palestinian singer) life." PART OF 'THE IDOL' FILM DURING SCREENING
- Embargoed: 13th October 2016 13:44
- Keywords: mobile cinema cinema West Bank Area C film
- Location: JORDAN VALLEY, WEST BANK
- City: JORDAN VALLEY, WEST BANK
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA00151H92Z9
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Setting up for a film night under the stars is a West Bank based mobile cinema company that brings films to local communities in the Jordan Valley.
The cinema company is called 'Area C Mobile Cinema' referencing the name of the area -- which makes up to 60 percent of the West Bank and has been under complete Israeli military control since the mid-1990s.
The project is funded by The Danish House in Palestine and the Danish centre for Culture and Development (CKU).
Among the aims of the centre is to improve access to culture, promote art and culture in public spaces and enhance employment opportunities for young people.
According to the CKU website, the centre aims to give people access to art and cultural activities and to take 'cultural operators out of their isolation.'
Event organizer, May Odeh, said that it is necessary to bring cinema to people in abandoned areas who do not have access to cultural events.
"Cinema is not only for cities and for the people who always have access to cultural events. We have to go out and visit the people in abandoned areas who are not listed neither on the political map nor on the cultural map. So we said that we want to bring the screens, films and filmmakers to be at the villages in the areas that are always targeted by the Israeli occupational forces like the Jordan Valley which are considered an area C," said Odeh.
The mobile cinema will head to a different village in the Jordan Valley screening a different film everyday during its 10 day circuit.
For residents of the Jiftlek area like Othman Al-Onouz, this is the closest access they have to seeing a film on the big screen.
"In the Jordan Valley we don't have a cinema, so we wait for these days for such projects and culture to get educated. Because the Jiftlek area is far from cities and we cannot go at night to the cinema. This educates them and gives them serenity,'' said Al-Onouz.
Others echoed his comments speaking of the importance of cultural awareness and education in the area.
In 2011, UNWRA also launched a mobile cinema project aimed at Bedouin communities in Area C, where a focus was on screening films of human rights and the rights of minority groups.
Palestinians living in Area C, which accounts for 60 percent of the total and is where most settlements are located, are being uprooted from the land in increasing numbers.
During a visit to a sensitive part of the West Bank near the Palestinian city of Nablus, where settlements occupy almost every hilltop and are steadily expanding their footprint, U.N. diplomats studied maps and pointed out how the Israeli enclaves were spreading east toward the Jordan Valley.
Under the Oslo accords of the mid-1990s, Israel retains full control over Area C, where large tracts have been declared closed military areas. As a result, Israeli courts tend to approve the removal of Palestinians from the area and the demolition of their homes, even though the accords did not change the illegal status of settlements there.
Last week the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators said it was strongly opposed to Israel's ongoing settlement activity, warning that it risked ending the chance of a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
The group, which comprises the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia, issued a report in July calling on Israel to stop its policy of building settlements on occupied land and restricting Palestinian development, but the activity has shown no signs of abating. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
