ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
The Boston Palestine Film Festival (BPFF) was established to showcase the extraordinary narrative of Palestinians through the medium of cinema to audiences in the New England area. The festival is sponsored by Tawassul, an organization committed to sharing and celebrating Palestinian arts and culture.
BPFF showcases the diverse and creative work of all filmmakers (any nationality) exploring both historic and contemporary themes related to Palestinian culture, experience, and narrative. This festival features a range of compelling and thought-provoking documentaries, dramatic features, rare early works, and new films by emerging artists. These films from international directors bring an honest, self-described, and independent view of Palestine and its diasporic society, culture, and political travails.
The BPFF Selection Committee accepts films, videos and digital media in the following categories:
- Feature Films
- Documentaries
- Shorts (including animated or experimental works)
- Youth Work (created by filmmakers under the age of 18)
The first annual festival premiered from September 29th to October 7th, 2007 at various venues throughout the greater Boston area. This year the festival will be held from October 4th – 12th, 2008. The new call for entries (CFE) for submissions by international filmmakers was announced on January 2nd, 2008.
In 2008, the festival particularly encourages submissions related to the Palestinian refugee issue and themes of exile, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Nakba.
While, the primary cinematic program of the festival this year will occur in October 2008 over a 9-10 day period, this initiative is envisioned as an ongoing program of smaller cultural events, talks and screenings held throughout the year. In this way the festival seeks to engage local audiences and sustain Palestinian arts and culture in the city throughout the year as part of its linkage with Tawassul.
BPFF is envisioned as an ongoing multi-year initiative. In the long run we seek to develop additional programs and events to increase the visibility of Palestinian films in the area, support emerging Palestinian filmmakers, and partner with other such festivals in the US and worldwide.
The Boston Palestine Film Festival is a program of the Middle East Charitable and Cultural Society Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization. |
