ARTAFRICAFEATURE / CARTHAGE FILM FESTIVALCARTHAGE FILM FESTIVAL / IN CONVERSATION WITH MUAYAD ALAYAN 15/20
away with through using local resources, talents and finances. Love, Theft and other Entanglements
was developed and written with this challenge in mind.
In a country that faces radical geographical and psychological dislocation, what role do
you think cinema plays in helping expose this to the outside world?
The Palestinian territories are currently facing new quotas. Injustices have increased as a result
of the Israeli Occupation. The number of political prisoners is on the rise. More land is being
confiscated. Israel is building more and more separation barriers which limit the movement of
Palestinian people. I know many people who have not visited their neighbouring town. They
are stuck. If you don’t know what the sea is then how can you know that you need the sea? If
you have the ability to go to the sea then you have the ability to choose. Maybe I’m a mountain
person? Christian Palestinians get permits twice a year during Easter and Christmas, that’s actually
the time we schedule our productions to enable our crew members in Bethlehem to be on set
with us in Jerusalem. On Easter a friend of mine took his son to the sea for the first time. He
told his son, “Look at the sea, look at the sea!” and his son asked, “Where is it?” Then it struck
him that he had to explain to his son that this big thing is the sea. His son, who is already five,
did not know what to look for. It’s the little things in life that most people take for granted. The
occupation takes these away from you. It is traumatic for people who know how important this
is. It’s really limiting for people who are growing up unaware of these things.
I think that this is one of the things I adore about cinema. Cinema can do many things. It’s about
narrating and reflecting on life and reality. It can show you new things in life, it can take you
places you’ve never been to or you will never go to. It can bring the world to you. It can change
your opinion or your view about things, or it can make you question yourself in relation to the
world and to others. This is important in the Palestinian context, where there are so many voices
waiting to be heard. Palestinians have a lot to contribute to the world, not only through cinema,
but also music, literature and art.
Muayad Alayan, stills
from Love, Theft and
other Entanglements,- Sound: Costas
Fylaktidis. Edit: Sameer
Qumsiyeh. Production:
PalCine Productions.
Distribution: MAD
Solutions.
Duration: 93 minutes.
All images courtesy of
PalCine Productions.