MONTREAL/November 12, 2003—
Concordia University, in collaboration with the Festival du Monde Arabe, will present the world premier of the film Route 181, Fragments d'un voyage en Palestine-IsraÎl, co-produced by Michel Khleifi and Eyal Sivan.
The screening will take place on Sunday, November 16, and lasts 4 and a half hours - from 10 am to 12:30 pm (lunch break from 12:30 to 2pm), then continuing from 2 pm and 4:30 pm. It will take place in room H-110 of the Henry F. Hall Building (1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West). Admission is free. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion.
The film:
The Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers jointly traveled the dividing line set in 1947. They interviewed individuals on both sides of the line, documenting the trauma experienced on each side. In this four and a half hour film, they present an image of ëtheir' Palestine and Israel. In their mission statement they say ì Nous dÈsirons construire un acte filmique qui rÈsiste ‡ l'idÈe que la seule chose qui puisent faire ensemble les IsraÈliens et les Palestiniens, c'est la guerre jusqu'‡ ce que l'autre disparaisseî.
The panel discussion:
The film screening will be followed by a debate with panelists representing the Arab and Jewish communities. Joining the filmmakers on the panel will be NaÔm Kattan, author and associate professor of literature at l'UniversitÈ du Quèbec ‡ Montrèal (UQAM); Tahani Rachad, a filmmaker originally from Cairo, who now works with The National Film Board and is well-known for the social consciousness of her documentaries; Sami Aoun, a political science professor at l'UniversitÈ du Sherbrooke specializing on the Middle East; and Alain Saint-Hilaire, a long time adventure filmmaker who has traveled the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf to Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen and Iraq.
For more information about the filmmakers and the panelists, please consult the web-sites of Concordia's Public Affairs and Government Relations Department, and of the Festival du Monde Arabe, which are listed above. To arrange interviews with the filmmakers, please contact BÈata Ginel, at (514) 378-9063.
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Information :
Aida Kamar
Communication FMA, Festival du Monde Arabe
Tel : (514) 747-0000, ext. 203
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