A collection of 9 short films titled “Worlds” by 9 Palestinian filmmakers were screened at Zafer Al-Masri Auditoriums at An-Najah’s Old Campus. “Worlds” is a production of “Shashat” (A formally registered cinema NGO in Palestine that focuses on women’s cinema) on behalf of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs-Italian Cooperation. The “Worlds” project is part of the Program “WELOD” (Women’s Empowerment and Local Development).

The project aims to the capacity and experience of nine Palestinian women filmmakers so that they can express their stories more effectively through acquiring dramatic filmmaking skills. The long-term developmental objective of “Worlds” is to create social change through culture.

The show attracted a large number of audiences and featured 9 short films, the first of which was titled “Fruity Dreams” by Laila Abbas, the film tells the story of a Palestinian family that is shopping at a super-market; the little girl chooses an Israeli ice cream. A small ordinary discussion over the Israeli product ends up as a political, yet amusing, dispute with more shoppers involved.

The second film was titled “Restriction” by Taghreed Al-Azza, the film tells the story of a thirteen year-old girl who dreams of becoming a ballet dancer but she faces difficulties which prevent her from making her dream come true. The third film was titled “Forgotten Flowers” by Raya Orouq. Orouq’s film tells the story of some teenagers who associate the idea of marriage with the wedding gown, flowers, the ring, and forget, or attempt to forget the responsibilities that marriage brings with it.

The fourth film was produced by Omaima Hamouri and titled “Date” and states that imagination is imagination and reality is reality, but that is not what Reem thinks who takes us on a journey in her fertile imagination. Sometime, she is classically romantic with her boyfriend Sameer and other times her mood is reversed.

The fifth film titled “Birth” and was produced by Dima Abu Ghoush, her film tells the story of Farah a 7-year old girl who lives with her mother Sara. The father is absent and Farah has to  overcome her fear of the dark in order to go out at night and get help for her mother who is about to give birth.

“Echo of Silence” by Wafa Nassar was the sixth film and told the story of a boy who lives in a violent environment. He sees, hears and gets affected by this environment and is forced to confront his reality.

The seventh film was titled “The First was the Last” by Salam Kanaan. The film tells the story of Rami and Nour who fall in love on the Messenger before they even meet…Will their love end-up in failure?

The eighth film was produced by Fadya Salah Aldeen and titled “Just Forbidden” which tells the story of a 12-year old girl’s transition from childhood to adolescence and adulthood which results in a conflict with her parents during this dramatic change in her life.

The last film was titled “On Air” by Ghada Terawi. Her film discussed the idea of having the Palestinian-Israeli conflict end where everyone lives in a democratic, barrier-free state, equal and happy.