Al Ard Film Festival

Last updated
Al Ard Film Festival
LOGO AL ARD SENZA DOC (3).svg
Location Cagliari, Sardinia
Founded2002
Most recent20th Edition, February 2024
AwardsBest Feature Documentary Film;

Best Short Documentary Film; Best Short Fiction Film;

Audience Award

Contents

Website https://alardfilmfestival.com/

Al Ard Film Festival is an international film festival aimed at popularising Palestinian and Arab culture and art. The festival takes place in Cagliari (Sardinia) once a year and has been organised since 2002 by the Associazione Amicizia Sardegna Palestina (Sardinia-Palestina Friendship Association), a volunteering organisation founded in 1997 in the Mediterranean island. [1]

One of the frequent guests of Al Ard Film Festival in Sardinia is Monica Maurer, who also directed films about the Palestinian revolution in the 1970s. [2]

History

The first edition of Al Ard (meaning "The Land" in Arabic) was held in Cagliari, and, since then, it has grown in popularity and international reach, attracting a diverse and engaged audience. The festival has become a beloved and eagerly anticipated annual event for the local community, and its success has helped to put Cagliari on the map as a destination for film enthusiasts even from outside the island.

Mission

Since its first edition, the mission of the event has been to promote fundamental rights, such as the right of self-determination, [3] with a particular focus on Palestine. Started as a small local event, over the years, Al Ard has become an international film festival, [4] and it is now among the most popular events about the Arab world in Southern Europe. [5] [6] [7]

Editions

The festival has been held annually since 2002 and has grown to become a major cultural event in the region. The 19th edition of Al Ard Film Festival took place in February 2023 at the Teatro Massimo in Cagliari. The festival attracts international guests, some of whom have been part of the Jury multiple times, such as Monica Maurer, Ibrahim Nasrallah, May Odeh, and many other were invited as filmmakers candidates for awards, such as Mai Masri, Sahera Dirbas, Mohammed Alatar, Kasim Abid, Elia Ghorbia, Linda Paganelli, Habib Ayeb, and many more.

Initially, until 2009, the festival was limited to showcasing Arab films, with a particular focus on Palestine, without awarding any prizes. [8] Since 2011, with the introduction of a jury, the festival concludes with an award ceremony, during which various accolades are presented. The jury is made up of film experts and Middle East specialists, who evaluate the competing films based on criteria that include cinematic quality and thematic depth related to the Middle East.

EditionYearDateAwards
12002?
22003?
32004?
4200524 - 26 November
520061 - 3 December
620087 - 9 February
720095 - 7 February
82010not held
9201115 - 19 February
  • Best Emerging Director
    Emiliano Sacchetti for A New Day Has Come | Italy, 2010
    Giulia Amati & Stephen Natarson for This is my Land… Hebron | Italy, 2010
  • Best Film About Palestine
    Gaza… Strophe by Samir Abdallah, Kheridine Mabrouk | France/Palestine, 2010
  • Best Documentary of the Festival
    Gaza Hospital by Marco Pasquini | Italy, 2009
1020126 - 10 March
  • Best Documentary of the Festival
    Tears of Gaza by Vibeke Lokkeberg | Norway, 2011
112013November
12201518 - 21 March
  • Audience Award:
    Striplife. Gaza in a day by Nicola Grignani, Alberto Mussolini, Luca Scaffidi, Valeria Testagrossa, Andrea Zambelli
1320169 - 12 March
1420177 - 11 March
15201817 - 24 March
  • Al Ard Award (best documentary of the Festival, assigned by the jury)
    Dream Fragments by Bahïa Bencheikh El-Fegoun (Algeria)
  • Palestine Award (best documentary about Palestine, assigned by the jury)
    Broken Dreams by Mohamed Harb (Palestine)
  • Emerging Director Award (assigned by the jury)
    Home by Berber Verpoest (Belgium)
  • Special Mentions of the Jury
    Bloody Basil by Elia Gorbiah (Palestine)
  • Sardegna Palestina Award (assigned by the Selection Board)
    Ghost Hunting by Raed Andoni (France, Palestine, Switzerland, Qatar)
16201911 - 16 March [9]
17202017 - 22 August
  • Audience Award (assigned by the audience)
    Between Two Crossings by Yasser Murtaja
  • Al Ard Award (best documentary of the Festival, assigned by the jury)
    Between Two Crossings by Yasser Murtaja
  • Palestine Award (best documentary about Palestine, assigned by the jury)
    On The Doorstep by Sahera Dirbas
  • Emerging Director Award (assigned by the jury)
    Imprisoning a Generation by Zelda Edmunds
  • Sardegna Palestina Award (assigned by the Selection Board)
    The Walls of Dheisheh by Clemence Lehec and Tamara Abu Laban
  • Echo of the Camp Award (assigned by the Selection Board )
    Ambience by Wisam Al Jafari
  • Handala Award (assigned by the Selection Board)
    Memory of the Land by Samira Badran
  • Special Mentions of the Jury:
    Aisle by Hisham Kayed
    Hummus by Abdel Lafi Seed Queen by Mariam Shahin
1820229 - 13 March
19202321-25 February
20202420-24 February

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sardinian language</span> Romance language indigenous to the island of Sardinia

Sardinian or Sard is a Romance language spoken by the Sardinians on the Western Mediterranean island of Sardinia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sardinia</span> Island in the Mediterranean and region of Italy

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia and immediately south of the French island of Corsica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SEF Torres 1903</span> Italian football club

Torres is an Italian football club based in the city of Sassari. It plays in Serie C, the third division of the Italian football league system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of Sardinia</span> Flag of the island of Sardinia

The flag of Sardinia, called the flag of the Four Moors or simply the Four Moors, represents and symbolizes the island of Sardinia (Italy) and its people. It was also the historical flag and coat of arms of the Aragonese, then Spanish, and later Savoyard Kingdom of Sardinia. It was first officially adopted by the autonomous region in 1950 with a revision in 1999, describing it as a "white field with a red cross and a bandaged Moor's head facing away from the hoist in each quarter".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of Palestine</span> Film industry in the State of Palestine

Cinema of Palestine is relatively young in comparison to Arab cinema as a whole. Palestinian films are not exclusively produced in Arabic and some are even produced in English and French. Elia Suleiman has emerged as one of the most notable working Palestinian directors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hisham Zreiq</span> Palestinian film director

Hisham Zreiq, also spelled Zrake, is a Palestinian-Israeli Independent filmmaker, poet, animator and visual artist. He began working in computer art in 1994, and in 1996 started exhibiting his work in galleries and museums. In 2007 he filmed his first documentary, The Sons of Eilaboun, and in 2008 he created the short film Just Another Day, dealing with the life of Arabs living in western world after September 11 terror attacks. He uses his poetry and visual art in his films, as in Just Another Day, and was a member of the Culture Unplugged film festival panel. In 2018 Zreiq contributed to the book An Oral History of the Palestinian Nakba by writing a chapter based on the interviews from his documentary The Sons of Eilaboun. In 2023 he started a music project called 'Goddess Asherah'

Kasim Abid is an Iraqi filmmaker, director, producer and cameraman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sardinian people</span> Romance ethnic group native to Sardinia

The Sardinians, or Sards, are a Romance language-speaking ethnic group native to Sardinia, from which the western Mediterranean island and autonomous region of Italy derives its name.

Just Another Day is a short film by the Palestinian visual artist and filmmaker Hisham Zreiq (Zrake). The film deals with post 9/11 status of Arabs in the Western world, via the story of a young Arab man that lives in Europe after the September 11 terror attacks. The story is told in a day when his city is struck by another terror attack, in a sad chapter of his life, because he is suffering after the woman he loves left him – precisely because he is an Arab.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sardinian nationalism</span> Secessionist movement in Italy

Sardinian nationalism or also Sardism is a social, cultural and political movement in Sardinia calling for the self-determination of the Sardinian people in a context of national devolution, further autonomy in Italy, or even outright independence from the latter. It also promotes the protection of the island's environment and the preservation of its cultural heritage.

Marquis of Neoneli is a title granted in 1774 by Victor Amadeus III of Savoy, king of Sardinia, to Sardinian nobleman Pedro Ripoll. It has passed afterwards to the house Sanjust.

Marquis of Montemuros, also called Monte Muros, is a title granted in 1762 by Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy, king of Sardinia, to Sardinian nobleman and lord Pedro Martinez. It got extinguished in 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuvixeddu necropolis</span> Archaeological site in Cagliari, Italy

The necropolis of Tuvixeddu is a Punic necropolis, the largest in the Mediterranean. It is located in a hill inside the city of Cagliari, Sardinia called Tuvixeddu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olhares do Mediterrâneo - Cinema no Feminino</span> International film festival of films made by Mediterranean women directors

Olhares do Mediterrâneo - Women's Film Festival is an international film festival of films made by Mediterranean women directors. The 8th edition of the Festival took place in Lisbon, Portugal, on November 10-14 2021, at Cinema São Jorge.

Olimpia Cagliari is an Italian amateur basketball club based in Cagliari, Sardinia.

<i>Bullied to Death</i> 2016 Italian film

Bullied to Death is a 2016 Italian-American film written and directed by Giovanni Coda, starring Tendal Mann. The film, shot in Italy and performed in English, was presented by the director and premiered during the 2016 edition of the Torino GLBT Film Festival. Bullied to Death is the second episode of the trilogy on gender-based violence started by the director with the film Il Rosa Nudo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sa die de sa Sardigna</span> Holiday in Sardinia, Italy

Sardinia's Day, also known as Sardinian people's Day, is a holiday in Sardinia commemorating the Sardinian Vespers occurring in 1794–96.

Shigeaki Sugeta is a Japanese linguist. Emeritus professor of General, Romance and Italian Linguistics at the University of Waseda, and now advisor to the Institute of Italian Studies of the same university, is the author of the first ever Sardinian-Japanese vocabulary.

Roberta Floris is an Italian journalist, television presenter and former model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Camillo</span> Australian–Italian filmmaker, writer

Lisa Camillo is an Italian-Australian filmmaker, producer and writer. She is known for writing, producing and directing Balentes – The Brave Ones, Italy's Covid Hotline and The Sardinian Factory of Death. Her publications include Una Ferita Italiana .

References

  1. "Who we are". Associazione Amicizia Sardegna-Palestina. 13 March 2007.
  2. Alarda, L. T. (2021). On cinema and revolutions: Tricontinental militancy and the cinema of the palestinian revolution. Queen's University, Canada (Thesis). p. 65. ProQuest   2572536389.
  3. "Il mondo palestinese a Cagliari nei documentari "Al Ard DOC Film Festival"". L'Unione Sarda.it (in Italian). 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
  4. "Cinema, storie dal Medio Oriente: per ragionare su diritti umani, la pace, oltre le bombe, i muri e l'odio". la Repubblica (in Italian). 2019-04-29. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
  5. "Al Ard Film Festival". The Truth: LOST AT SEA. 2019-03-10. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
  6. Breaking Latest News (14 March 2022). "Arab-Palestinian film festival: in Cagliari wins the 2022 "Eye of the Storm" award". Breaking Latest News. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  7. La Nuova Sardegna. "Festival del cinema arabo-palestinese: a Cagliari vince il premio 2022 "Eye of the Storm"". La Nuova Sardegna (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  8. "VII Edition 2009 - When Al Ard was a Film Fair without Awards" . Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  9. "CINEMA. Dall'11 al 16 marzo la XVI edizione dell'Al Ard Doc Film Festival". NenaNews (in Italian). 2019-03-09. Retrieved 2022-09-22.