This program, including Q&A, is curated by Razan AlSalah and moderated by Yara Yuri Safaldi.
CANADA PARK (2019), directed by Razan AlSalah, is an experimental film essay that uses digital tools to transcend colonial image-borders. Unable to physically return to Palestine, AlSalah navigates the digital realm to explore Ayalon-Canada Park, a site built over the erased village of Imwas — a village named in the Old Testament and destroyed by the Israeli Defense Forces in 1967. Through her ghostly digital journey, AlSalah challenges the acts of erasure and displacement, blending historical memory with virtual presence.
A STONE'S THROW (2024), directed by Razan AlSalah, tells the story of Amine, forcibly displaced from Haifa to Beirut and later to the Arab Gulf to work on an offshore oil platform. The film parallels the Zionist colonization of Palestine and the extraction of oil, highlighting their shared emotional and material impacts. The history of the Palestinian resistance is rehearsed, when in 1936 the oil labourers of Haifa blew up a BP pipeline, framing Zionism as an environmental force of destruction that uproots people from their land and fractures them from language and heritage.
About the festival
The Palestinian Film Festival Amsterdam was born from a grassroots initiative with a commitment to centre Palestinian voices on a vibrant platform. Since 2015, the PFFA’s mission is to amplify the cinematographic storytelling and artistry of both emerging and veteran Palestinian directors.
Approaching its ninth year, the 2024 PFFA will be held at five Amsterdam cinemas from October 10-13. As we prepare for the upcoming edition, our dedication to preserve the only Palestinian film festival in the Benelux is stronger than ever. Alongside a diverse selection of films, featuring experimental shorts, drama features, documentaries and animations, the 2024 PFFA highlights Dissident Voices, with a special focus on Gaza and Queer Palestinian Cinema. As an extension of last year’s Nakba commemoration, this year’s artist talks and fringe events will reflect the current context that we find ourselves in.