"This film is not about the past, but about the future, which can still be shaped. It is a work that can only begin by placing a mirror in front of the colonial archives. I am sabotaging the colonial gaze."
– Kamal Aljafari
Since his film Recollection (2015), which he edited using scenes from Israeli and American action movies, Kamal Aljafari has concentrated primarily on reusing preexisting footage taken from commercial films or institutional or family archives. His work has been the focus of multiple retrospectives and exhibitions. A Fidai Film (2024), which was supported by Light Cone's post-production residency, Atelier 105, has received prizes at Visions du Réel (Nyon), Pesaro Film Festival and FID Marseille, among others, and was selected for such festivals as the Viennale, BFI London Film Festival, Media City Film Festival (Windsor) and Courtisane (Ghent).
Kamal Aljafari is a Palestinian filmmaker and artist, whose work, though linked to the field of documentary, uses a multitude of approaches and formats, creating dialogue between visual art, the essay film and experimental cinema. Currently residing in Paris as a 2024-2025 fellow at Columbia University's Institute for Ideas and Imagination, he is developing The Museum of Days, a continuation of his trilogy set in post-1948 Jaffa, as well as With Hassan in Gaza, a film project also supported by Light Cone's residency.
The screening will be followed by a conversation with Kamal Aljafari, Flavia Mazzarino (producer), Simon Fisher Turner (composer) and Attila Faravelli (sound artist).
A FIDAI FILM
by Kamal ALJAFARI
2024 / DCP / color-b&w / sound / 78' 00
In the summer of 1982, the Israeli army invaded Beirut. During this time, it raided the Palestinian Research Center and looted its entire archive. The archive contained historical documents of Palestine, including a collection of still and moving images. Taking this as a premise, A FIDAI FILM aims to create a counter-narrative to this loss, presenting a form of cinematic sabotage that seeks to reclaim and restore the looted memories of Palestinian history. It’s a poignant exploration of identity, memory, and resistance, told through a unique blend of documentary and experimental filmmaking techniques.
