Bashar, de la Pharmacie au Dabké
Duration: 0:03:58
Director: Iyad Alasttal
Choreography: Bashar Al-Belbessy
Country, Year: Palestine, 2023
Synopsis
Amidst the conflict, young Palestinians find in dabke a way to release their pain, connect with their history, and keep hope alive.
The Shepherdess
Duration: 0:11:22
Director: Fidaa Ataya
Choreography: Marmar Joulani
Country, Year: Palestine, 2019
Synopsis
The story of Salty Valley and Sweet Spring in the Jordan Valley combines dance and animation in order to tell the story of a shepherding and farming woman who suffers the pain of ongoing loss of land and water resources. The film is shot on location in Salty Valley and Sweet Spring, which face ongoing land and water confiscation by the occupation. A folk tale interweaving with lived reality that embodies how the sweet melted the saltiness of life.
The Ghoul
Duration: 0:16:39
Director: Ala Desoki
Choreography: Olena Musalam
Country, Year: Palestine, 2019
Synopsis
In my homeland and in Gaza, the myth of the Ghoul is made real by the most frightening event – war. The Ghoul myth does not terrify our children. Their greatest fear is war and occupation, which steal life and land – these are the real Ghoul. In this film, a mother, in a long and seemingly endless night of terror, tries to ward off the ghoul and protect her two children through ritualistic dances.
If You Say Yes or You Say No
Duration: 0:16:39
Director: Layali Kilani
Choreography: Layali Kilani
Country, Year: Palestine, 2008
Synopsis
A young girl dreams of flying and becoming free through dance, escaping from closed rooms and enclosed lives.
Dancing Palestine
Duration: 0:37:02
Director: Lamees Almakkawy
Choreography: Ahmed Najar, Sarah Amawi, Fares Farraj, Zeina Zkeih
Country, Year: Palestine, United Kingdom 2024
RRSS: IG @lameesalm
Synopsis
Spanish Premiere. As the Palestinian identity continues to be threatened with erasure, Palestinians turn to their folk dance, the dabke, to assert their existence. Ultimately, they dance because they love life, and insist on living it.
Gaza: La Danse pour Survivre
Duration: 0:04:11
Director: Iyad Alasttal
Choreography: Bashar Al-Belbessy
Country, Year: Palestine, 2025
RRSS: IG, TW @gazastories FB @GazansStories
Synopsis
A Palestinian artist, Bashar, recounts how dabke has been for him and his community a form of identity, resistance, and personal transformation, especially after his cultural experience in France.
From Ground Zero – Flashback
Duration: 0:05:21
Director: Islam Al Zeriei
Country, Year: France, Palestine, Qatar, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, 2024
Synopsis
Farah, a fifteen-year-old girl, hates the sound of planes and artillery. After her house is bombed, she goes to bed early for fear of the unknown. To combat the sounds of war, she puts her headphones on and practises her favourite hobby, dancing. Flashback is part of From Ground Zero, a collection of 22 short films made in Gaza. Initiated by Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi, the project was born to give a voice to 22 Gazan filmmakers to tell the untold stories of the current war on film.
