The Palestinian Film Festival Amsterdam was born from a grassroots initiative with a commitment to centre Palestinian voices on a vibrant platform. Since 2015, the PFFA’s mission is to amplify the cinematographic storytelling and artistry of both emerging and veteran Palestinian directors.

Approaching its ninth year, the 2024 PFFA will be held at five Amsterdam cinemas from October 10-13. As we prepare for the upcoming edition, our dedication to preserve the only Palestinian film festival in the Benelux is stronger than ever. Alongside a diverse selection of films, featuring experimental shorts, drama features, documentaries and animations, the 2024 PFFA highlights Dissident Voices, with a special focus on Gaza and Queer Palestinian Cinema. As an extension of last year’s Nakba commemoration, this year’s artist talks and fringe events will reflect the current context that we find ourselves in.

Ventilator Cinema Shorts Programme #1: Vibrations From Gaza

1. FILM TITLE: I Would Like To Visit

Director: Muhammad Nour ElKhairy
Year of production: 2017
Duration: 4:25 min
Spoken language: English
Subtitles: English

Website: https://www.muhammadnourelkhairy.com/ 

Description: I WOULD LIKE TO VISIT (2017), directed Muhammad Nour ElKhairy, is an experimental work that combines text and film to explore the simple desire to travel. Tracing the writing of a letter against an anxious soundtrack, the protagonist spirals into a complicated and uncertain process by way of the bureaucratic realities of settler colonialism, restricted mobility, and self-aware political frustration. 

2. FILM TITLE: I Signed The Petition

Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Year of production: 2018
Duration:: 10 mins
Spoken language: English
Subtitles: English

Description: I SIGNED THE PETITION (2018), directed by Mahdi Fleifel, offers a philosophical debate between two friends on the importance of cultural boycott, who wonder whether or not individuals can truly make a difference within a system dominated by global powers. Unfolding through a phone conversation between the filmmaker and a friend who worries about having signed a petition asking Radiohead not to play in Tel-Aviv, the film navigates feelings of fear, guilt, and the vulnerability of individual choices in the face of collective struggle.

3. FILM TITLE: Staring At The Static Noise

Director: Sarah Zeryab
Year of production: 2022
Duration: 5:30 mins
Spoken language: Static Noise
Subtitles: None

Description: STARING AT THE STATIC NOISE (2022), directed by Sarah Zeryab, stems from a visual essay that strives to navigate and deconstruct video, and exists as a companion piece to a blog entry reflecting on both a desire and a reluctance to write.  In a dynamic interplay of image and text as mutual creators, Zeryab’s haptically embodied diary piece meditates on the construction and deconstruction of what she coins as the “virtual self.”

4. FILM TITLE: Vibrations From Gaza

Director: Rehab Nazzal
Year of production: 2023
Duration: 16 mins
Spoken language: Arabic
Subtitles: English

Description: VIBRATIONS FROM GAZA (2023), directed by Rehab Nazzal, delves into the daily lives of deaf children living in Gaza, a region under relentless siege. Through the testimonies of Amani, Musa, Israa, Mustafa, and others, the film highlights their experiences of soundlessness with frequent Israeli airstrikes and the omnipresent drones overhead. The children describe their awareness of missile strikes through vibrations in the air, the trembling earth, and the resonance of collapsing structures. This piece was made in collaboration with the Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children.

5. FILM TITLE: Home Movies Gaza

Director: Basma al-Sharif
Year of production: 2013
Duration: 24 mins
Spoken language: Arabic
Subtitles: English

Description: HOME MOVIES GAZA (2013), directed by Basma al-Sharif, provides an evocative portrait of the Gaza Strip as a microcosm of civilization's failure. The film delves into the daily struggles of a region fighting for basic human rights, revealing a complicated and dilapidated reality impossible to separate from Gaza's political identity. Al-Sharif combines experimental visual effects and narration to juxtapose Gaza’s gritty skylines with intimate, domestic scenes. Sonically dissonant with an elliptical rhythm, the film balances reality and imagination, presenting Gazans' lives with poignant clarity and poetic depth.

- Link to website: https://www.thepffa.nl/

- Festival trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ8iusjJ7ew