Creative Encounters 2005

Workshops in 2005 were mostly conducted by the in-house expertise of Jumana Abboud and Raeda Saadeh plus an additional photography workshop conducted by Wissam Faraj. All the work produced was given its own exhibition at Al-Ma’mal. Another aspect of Al-Ma’mal which became much more active in these years was the Creative Encounters Programme which consisted of artist talks, film screenings and debates. Most of the resident artists at this point gave talks about their work in the context of their residency exhibitions, but there were also talks by visiting writers, journalists and photographers. These included people such as British photographer J.C. Tordai whose images taken in Palestine over a period of more than 20 years remain among the most iconic images of the place and the people.

The films screened as part of the Creative Encounters covered a wide international range and included the works of directors such as Peter Greenaway, Samira Makmalbahf, Krystof Kieslowski and Emir Kusturica.

Palestine also made several films of its own during this period through the ‘Swiss-Palestinian Film Encounters’. This project was a collaboration between Al-Ma’mal and two film production houses in Switzerland – AKKA Films and LAGO Films. A series of workshops on documentary scriptwriting, directing and cinema were conducted with a group of 24 young Palestinians in Ramallah. The project involved Geneva filmmaker Nicolas Wadimoff and three other Swiss film professionals: Fernand Melgar, Jean Perret and Joëlle Comé. The team along with Palestinian co-ordinators such as photographer and filmmaker Issa Freij worked with the group over a period of six months and then invited proposals from the participants for short films on the theme of ‘Mt Home’. Five were selected and provided a unique opportunity for young filmmakers to conceive, develop and successfully complete their own documentary films.

The Fourth Room by Nahed Awwad
Abu Jamil owns a bookshop in Ramallah. Nothing has changed in his shop since the 1960s. The filmmaker asks him about his dreams and his troubles, about Nasser and the Palestine of earlier years, and about… the secret room, where precious pictures of the past are kept.

The Guardian of Boredom by Mazen Saadeh
Mazen works as an employee in the offices of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Although there is nothing to do, the employees are obliged to put in their hours under the watchful eye of a department head, who is very strict about schedules.

Summer of ’85 by Rowan al Faquih
There is nothing left on this patch of land. At most a few stones and an almond tree. Yet it was here that Rowan spent the most peaceful days of her childhood, surrounded by the love of her grandparents and her cousin from America. One day, war broke out…

Second Halftime by Saed Abu Hmud
“The football club is my home,” says Saed Abu Hmud, the film’s director. Originally from Bethlehem, he takes us on a trip down the memory lane of his childhood to the football field of the Catholic community of Salesian brothers. Through his recollections of those years, the first Intifada is depicted.

East To West by Enas Muthaffar
A wall is being built. Enas’s family are compelled to move, otherwise they will find themselves on the wrong side. She was born in the apartment they must now leave behind. Her father was born in a house at Jaffa that he was forced to abandon in 1948. Each generation has had to face a move…

J.C. Tordai