Archiving Resistance: Palestinian Narratives Reclaimed

Archiving Resistance: Palestinian Narratives Reclaimed / screening, seminar, vernissage

Efforts to preserve and reclaim Palestinian visual archives confront erasure, decades of dispossession, and limited accessibility. Beginning with a screening of films from the Palestinian archive and focusing on the Tokyo Reels, a rare collection of 1970s and 1980s films safeguarded by a Japanese Palestine solidarity group, this seminar examines how these reels, more than historical records, serve as a testament to Palestinian efforts to establish a counter-narrative through the moving image and to preserve cultural heritage during this period. We will also address current initiatives to reclaim visual archives that Palestinians are systematically denied.

As we discuss the archive’s contested state, the seminar will spotlight the intersectionality of transnational solidarity, exploring frameworks of cultural agency through ongoing efforts in decolonizing film archives, restitution, and repatriation. Through these examples, we will uncover the archive’s role, and the ongoing reclamation efforts, in shaping historical narratives and preserving memory across generations.

The films screened are part of the Tokyo Reels and the Provoked Narratives programme, provided by Mohanad Yaqubi and the Palestine Film Institute. The event is part of Zaher Jureidini's residency outcome at etc. gallery and is organized in collaboration with Display gallery and Kino Palestine.

Speakers:
Marguerite Farag, Zaher Jureidini, Matěj Strnad

Screening:
The Urgent Call (1973), PLO, 6 min.
The Game (1973), Iraq, 16 min.
South Lebanon (1976), Lebanon, 14 min.
Beirut 1982 (1982), Japan, 18 min.

Screening, seminar, opening: 13. 11. 2024 // 19:00
Location: Display / Dittrichova 9

14. 11. – 1. 12. 2024 // The films will be exhibited as part of a temporary exhibition at Display Gallery. // more info soon

Financial support: MKČR, SFK, MHMP