Al-Nakba: The Palestinian Catastrophe 1948
Al-Nakba: The Palestinian Catastrophe 1948 | |
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Directed by | Benny Brunner and Alexandra Jansse |
Written by | Benny Morris, Benny Brunner, Alexandra Jansse, Joseph Rochlitz |
Based on | The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947–1949 by Benny Morris |
Produced by | Benny Brunner and Alexandra Jansse |
Starring | Azmi Bishara, Shaban Muhmoud, Itzhak Pundak, Benny Morris |
Narrated by | Joseph Rochlitz |
Cinematography | Ram Lee-Tal |
Edited by | Joseph Rochlitz |
Music by | Elizabeth & Ilya Magnes |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Arab Film Distribution, Landmark Media Enterprises |
Release date |
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Running time | 58 minutes |
Country | The Netherlands |
Languages | English, Arabic, Hebrew |
Al-Nakba: The Palestinian Catastrophe 1948 is a documentary film of
Subject and treatment
Brunner has stated he was inspired to tell the story in Al-Nakba in 1988 after reading The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947–1949 by Benny Morris. He deemed it a "watershed moment" for challenging his view of Zionism after coming to believe that some Palestinians were expelled and that Arab leaders had not told the Palestinians to leave. He began to wonder how many Palestinians were expelled. He then decided to turn the book into a film as he had with other texts. Said Brunner, "Every film has its own time limit and so I made my choices. I wouldn’t change anything in the film."[2]
"We wanted to have lots of information in the film and not to make an emotional film," co-director Alexandra Jansse said later in an interview. "But the movie was brought to a higher level by adding the Palestinian poetry. We wanted to add that emotional level of the Palestinians who are broken up in their hearts and you can see it in their eyes."[5]
Benny Morris participated in the film despite Brunner's differing conclusions[2] and methodology.[4]
Premieres
The film first premiered in Brunner's hometown of Amsterdam, and after it was broadcast in central and western Europe, he toured with the film in Israel with question and answer sessions to invite discussion of the topic.[2] In Israel, the film was shown in Tel Aviv.[5]
The
Reactions
Israeli historian
Vienna
The film's selection by the
Tel Aviv
The movie screened on March 7, 1998, at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque.[6] Benny Brunner stated that former Tel Aviv mayor Shlomo Lahat walked out of the question and answer session. According to Brunner, "He seemed pissed off." In subsequent screenings in Tel Aviv, however, Brunner stated that Palestinians from Jaffa had criticized the film for leaving out particular events.[2]
San Francisco
The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival praised the film for its "authority" and "sensitivity" in its treatment of a controversial subject.[1] According to Jweekly, the film was preceded with long lines of people, some of them passing out flyers from a variety of political leanings. The article asserted that the film was the most controversial of the festival's entries. Jweekly noted the presence of police on hand and depicted the reaction afterward as a "fiery political exchange" moderated by Brunner, Jansse and David Biale, professor of Jewish history at the Graduate Theological Union. Though each question received its share of "cheers and hisses," the questions stayed on topic. Afterward, Brunner complimented participants for their "political maturity".[5]
References
- ^ a b c
"Al-Nakba: The Palestinian Catastrophe of 1948". The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. Archived from the original on 2011-09-14. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
AL-NAKBA takes the most hotly contested and misunderstood moment of Israeli-Palestinian history and makes it come alive with intellectual clarity and emotional impact.
- ^ a b c d e f g
Arwa Aburawa (February 2011). "Palestine's Great Book Robbery". Guernica Magazine.
- ^ "Documentary: Al-Nakba: The Palestinian Catastrophe 1948". Links – The International Journal of Socialist Review. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
- ^ Jama'a: 119–24. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-12-07.)
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(help - ^ a b c d e
Joshua Schuster (1998-07-31). "Commentary: 'Al-Nakba' screening inspires fiery political exchange". Jweekly. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
- ^ a b
Tom Segev (1998-03-06). "And That's How Yigal Cleaned Up the Galilee". Haaretz (in Hebrew).
This is a film that Israelis can live with; it does not demand that they pack their bags and return to their countries of origin. It does demand that they recognize that they bear at least some of the responsibility for what happened, even if it was inevitable.
- ^
Segal, Jérôme (2010). "Identities and Politics at the Vienna Jewish Film Festival". In Iordanova, Dina; Cheung, Ruby (eds.). Film Festival Yearbook 2: Film Festivals and Imagined Communities (PDF). ISBN 978-0956373014.