Category: Toronto Palestine Film Festival
TIFF 2011: ‘Trishna’ reimagines Thomas Hardy to lackluster effect
Trishna Directed by Michael Winterbottom Screenplay by Michael Winterbottom, based on the novel by Thomas Hardy UK, 2011 Adapting Tess of the D’Urbervilles is a challenge. Its reputation lies not only in Hardy’s prose and the novels social message, but … [Read the Rest]
TPFF: Budrus
Budrus Dir. Julia Bacha (2009, Palestine/Israel/USA, 70 mins.) Budrus is more than a documentary – it is a town in the West Bank that became a rally point for non-violent opposition to Israel’s West Bank barrier. Non-violence resistance – already … [Read the Rest]
TPFF: Jaffa, The Orange’s Clockwork
Jaffa, The Orange’s Clockwork Dir. Eyal Sivan (2009, France/Belgium/Germany/Israel, 86 mins.) Sometimes, the most innocuous things inspire political animosity; for example, negotiations between Turkish and Greek Cypriots once broke down over a disagreement over whether coffee was Greek or Turkish. … [Read the Rest]
TPFF: As the Poet Said
As the Poet Said Dir. Nasri Hajjaj (2009, Palestine, 65 mins.) Mahmoud Darwish was one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century. He is regarded as the Palestinian national poet. His poems – set to songs – have become … [Read the Rest]
TPFF: Inshallah Beijing!
Inshallah Beijing! Dir. Francesco Cannito, Luca Cusani (2008, Italy, 54 mins.) Inshallah means ‘God willing,’ the implication of this title being, “God willing, we’re going to the Olympics in Beijing.” No other team in the world face the challenges that … [Read the Rest]
TPFF: Zindeeq
Zindeeq Dir. Michel Khleifi (2009, Palestine, 85 mins.) Contradiction and ambiguity are at the heart of Zindeeq. The term “zindeeq” can, apparently, mean both ‘atheist’ and ‘freethinker.’ However, M (Mohammad Bakri), the atheist filmmaker and character at the heart of … [Read the Rest]
TPFF: The Time That Remains
The Time That Remains Dir. Elia Suleiman (2009, France/Belgium/Italy/UK, 109 mins.) A little over halfway into The Time That Remains, an ambulance pulls up to a hospital and the paramedics rush their patient inside. While camera remains fixed, a police … [Read the Rest]
