The festival, which will feature critically acclaimed movies by Palestinian filmmakers, will run from January 17 to 25.
Reel Palestine, a UAE-based film event dedicated to Palestinian movies, is returning for its sixth edition and will be hosted by the UAE’s art-house cinema, Cinema Akil.
For the sixth year, Reel Palestine will present a lineup of features, documentaries, short films, and experimental films, all in aim to shed light on real stories of the Palestinian people and highlight the importance of art and culture.
The festival will kick off with It Must Be Heaven by filmmaker Elia Suleiman who travels to different cities and finds unexpected parallels to his homeland of Palestine.
It will be followed by The Journey Of The Others – a group of brave theatre actors risk their lives every day to fulfil a dream that they are not willing to abandon: to show their play in New York.
The week will continue with Soufra – which features a woman who has lived in a 68-year-old camp for refugees from Iraq, Palestine and Syria.
The festival will also screen Ibrahim, A Fate to Define – a personal documentary, following the director’s quest to define her identity.
Other movies which will be showcased at Reel Palestine include You Come From far Away, which features a Palestinian family separated by a language barrier with the Spanish Civil War in the background.
On January 20 and 22, the festival will showcase Reel Palestine Shorts – combined with a series of Palestinian short films. The film week will be closed with Western Arabs – a historical and personal story, based on the director’s own experience, family, friends and acquaintances, and Gaza – a beautiful portrait of everyday Gazan citizens, leading meaningful lives beyond the rubble of perennial conflict.
The festival will also organise Q&A sessions with filmmakers to touch on some of the most pressing issues facing the Palestinian people.
