The UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Democracy at the University launches the First Palestine Human Rights Film Festival
26 September 2010
On September 26th 2010, under the auspices of the University President, Prof. Rami Hamdallah, the UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Democracy at the University launched the First Palestine Human Rights Film Festival. The event was organized at the Martyr Zafer Al-Masri Auditoriums at the Old Campus. The Festival continues until the last day of this month and will include a variety of films that address core issues related to human rights. Films like “I Study”, “Killing the Elephant”, “Filling Point”, “Gaza Children”, “Samya”, “Missing Gaza”, “The Mall” and others will feature stories that talk about the Palestinian people and some significant aspects of their life.
On the first day of the festival, the 48-minute “Gaza Children” film was played at the Auditoriums. The film told the story of Gaza from the point view of its children and described the impacts of war on their life. The film particularly told the story of the 9-year old Amal, 12-year old Aumayya and the 11-year old Ibrahim who have witnessed the horrible destruction of war and the miseries it brought upon them. The Film showed that despite what those children have seen, they continued to smile and hope for a better future. The Film also talked about the Israeli siege around Gaza which prevents the Palestinians from rebuilding their homes. It also described how brave children in Gaza are in standing in the face of the Israeli occupation.
Other films were also played at the Auditoriums including the 112-minute “Killing the Elephant” which described the events that accompanied the killing of the elephant in the 27th of December 2008. Mr. Raed Badawyeh, the Director of the UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Democracy, said that the Chair has chosen the cinema because of its ability to convey messages more effectively than other means. The cinema plays a big role in defending our rights and freedom; it helps in protecting human rights and human dignity. Mr. Badawyeh also added that the aim of the festival was to present something significant for the public which opens their eyes on the situations in Palestine and the difficulties people face in their quest to gain freedom and protect their rights.
The Festival will run two films everyday which will be followed by discussion of the film’s content and significance.
