Seventh Karama Human Rights Film Festival opens today

AMMAN — The seventh Karama Human Rights Film Festival opens today in Amman, under the theme “Are you a human being?”, celebrating art as a means to seek one’s identity, the organisers said in a statement released on Monday.

Through this year’s theme; Karama invites audiences and participants “to contemplate the chaotic status quo of human rights, where murders are normalised, [and] where the killings of dozens are regarded as usual and ordinary news”.

“Over the course of five days, the festival will screen more than 40 narrative features, documentaries and animated films from 25 countries, with the participation of a number of filmmakers and prominent actors from Egypt, Lebanon, France, Tunisia, Finland and Jordan,” the statement said.

The festival is funded by the EU and is supported by the European Union National Institute of Culture, Goethe Institut, the Danish Arab Programme, and the embassies of the Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands and Belgium.

The annual event, organised by Ma3mal 612 Think Factory in partnership with the Royal Cultural Centre, opens this year with a screening of the Egyptian film “Clash”, attended by the film’s actors.

“Clash” is a 2016 drama film directed by Mohamed Diab. It was officially selected by the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and won three awards at the Carthage Film Festival in the same year.

Jordanian feature “3000 Nights” is the closing film, directed by Palestinian filmmaker Mai Masri, who will be in attendance, according to the organisers. 

The film, Jordan’s official submission to the Academy Awards, depicts the struggle of a Palestinian woman who was imprisoned in an Israeli jail and later discovers that she is pregnant. 

It tells her story as she raises her son behind bars.

The screenings will take place at the Royal Cultural Centre in Amman as the main venue, along with screenings in Irbid, 80km north of Amman, as well as at several universities, schools and cultural centres across the country,

A number of films from several countries are competing for this year’s Karama Feather Award for Best Feature Documentary, and best animated film. A local and international jury will select the winners and announce the results on the festival’s closing day, December 10.

“Directors and actors will also gather at the event and engage in intensive meetings with the aim of establishing an Arab cinema forum similar to global film networks,” the statement said, adding that the festival will also include music performances, art exhibitions, workshops and discussions.

The festival’s programme is available on its website www.karamafestival.org, in additition to its Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/KaramaFilmFestival/), and Twitter (@KaramaFestival).