Re-Imagining Gaza, a series of short films

The Gaza Strip, a small territory on the Mediterranean largely inaccessible to the outside world, remains an enigmatic and misunderstood place. The Re-Imagining Gaza project seeks to explore and capture the human spirit and contrasting colors of Gaza, socially, culturally, and politically, through a series of cinematic interventions and participatory media.

Roger Hill of Mental-Rev Productions will showcase short films produced in digital story telling workshops conducted with Palestinian youth in Gaza City and the Jabaliya refugee camp in July-August 2010. Roger will also screen two short films Lost in the Land of the American and the Tree of Life, and an excerpt from an upcoming documentary Tayara Warakiya (Flying Paper), a participatory documentary being co-produced with youth in Gaza.

Program:

Voices Beyond Walls (Participatory Youth Media): A selection of short films written, filmed, edited and produced by the members of the Voices Beyond Walls youth media program in Jabaliya Refugee Camp in the summer of 2010. Featuring a diverse selection of Comedy, Documentary and Artistic films.

Lost in the Land of the American: Rana, a Palestinian woman who speaks no English and carries no cell phone, gets lost in downtown San Francisco during the Holiday Shopping Season and must seek help. (11 Minutes, San Francisco)

The Tree of Life: In a small rural neighborhood in Gaza there stands a tree where young lovers or “wannabe” lovers go to carve the names, or if their being discreet the initials of the ones they love. This short films focuses on a generation of women who discuss love, war, family history, Gaza and the significance the tree has played in their lives. (10 minutes)

Tayara Warakiya (Flying Paper) (excerpt): The story of young Palestinians in Gaza as they attempt to break a world record on July 29th, 2010 for the most kites flown simultaneously. The film explores the lives of these children, while probing the tradition and symbolism of making and flying kites in Gaza. (11 minutes)

Presenter Roger Hill was a youth media trainer in Gaza during the summer of 2010, and is the Director of Lost in the Land of the American and Co-Director and Editor of The Tree of Life and Tayara Warakiya. Hill is the founder of the documentary collective Mental-Rev Productions and will be on hand to discuss the films. Snacks and drinks will be provided and audience members are encouraged to mingle and have a good time before and after the screenings.