Cinema Akil is an independent film platform that brings quality films from all over the world to Dubai
In a visual honorary collection, Cinema Akil celebrates some of the best Palestinian productions in an independent film festival called Reel Palestine. Returning in its eighth edition in 2022, the event will take place from January 29 to February 6 amidst a special market featuring Palestinian brands, crafts, books, and more.
The festival is run on a 100% volunteer basis, and thrives on the labor of love by the community to share the country’s story and heritage over film. Reel Palestine will celebrate a lineup of Palestinian filmmakers from the wider diaspora who have produced distinguished films, features, and shorts in the narrative of Palestinians.
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Ever since its launch in 2015, the festival has been considered an incubator for award-winning films like Ameen Nayfeh’s 200 Metres, which won the BNL People’s Choice Award at Venice Film Festival. Documenting the powerful reality of the war-torn city, Gaza Mon Amour was also screened at the festival in 2020 alongside Ibrahim: A Fate to Define, a film about the disappearance of director Lina Al Abed’s father.
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Reel Palestine also features a home edition, where the movies can be watched in the comfort of one’s residence. Displaying a wide archive of Palestinian productions, every movie comes with a Vimeo link in which audiences can either buy or rent the movie.
This year, the festival will be partnering with Visualizing Palestine, a non-profit laboratory that creates data-driven tools to advance the rights based narrative on social justice. It will also be joining forces with Alserkal’s Kave, Gulf Photo Plus, and The Flip Side.
More information about the festival can be found at Reelpalestine.org
