Curator's Statement
We would like to begin by “measuring the distance” to where we stand in relation to the programme we “present. ”We have been invited to present/represent Palestinian films by Palestinian filmmakers through a programme, and this leads us to a series of questions about the meanings of representation.
The act of representation is somehow an act of constructing and reconstructing; it carries with it a form of repetition, a redefinition and the making/imagining of an image. But it also carries with it a political tone, in the sense of giving the right “to stand in” the place of others. We do not represent Palestinian films; Palestinian filmmakers do not represent Palestine or Palestinians. Rather, we think that – we/they – could present maps of representations, in a plural but not in an exclusive and collective sense. Our selection showcases films that question and negotiate representation and structures of power that inform the production of images and notions about Palestinians.
These films have an element of self-reflection, and criticism of the socio-political borders that make up the category of “Palestinian”, but most importantly, they are films that are constantly conscious of being representations.
The focus on the autobiographical in recent years in Palestinian cinema and art could be read as an attempt to remake an image not only in relation to the influence that media holds on it, but as a repositioning, a distancing that produces difference, and an exploration into how to “represent” or – even to go further – how not to represent. Through those short films we pose questions about space, and about how we construct our own maps.
The frames in which these films are taken are all decided, the landscape/map is constructed, it is conscious. They somehow retrace their own maps; reconstruct their own identities. Our question stems from a larger project in which we started thinking about mapping Palestinian cinema. We tried to do it spatially, chronologically, by genre… But in the end we have decided to leave this question for the films themselves. We chose films that attempt to recreate themselves, filmmakers that are constantly conscious and constantly correcting themselves and comparing themselves against an imagined landscape. They measure distances; they shoot against their wishes, dive, and dig deep, retracing maps and landscapes.
About the Curator
Lara Khaldi was born in Jerusalem 1982. She received her B.A in Archaeology and Art History with a minor in English literature in 2005. She is currently assistant director at the Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE. Khaldi worked as the artist coordinator for the Sharjah Biennial 8 (2007) and as co-editor and publications manager for the Sharjah Biennial 9 publications. She has Co-curated the exhibition PALESTINA: tierra, exilio, Creacion: Reconsidering Palestinian Art, Fundacion Antonio Perez, Cuenca, Spain 2006. Khaldi also worked as assistant director at Al Riwaq Art Gallery in Bahrain in 2007. She was Assistant curator for the exhibition “Never Part”, Bozar, Brussels, 2007. She was assistant curator for the exhibition “Disorientation II” at Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi in Nov. 2009. And has recently co-curated the film programme “We are Never Heros” at Al Ma’mal Foundation in Jerusalem during the 2nd Jerusalem show “On the Gates of Heaven”, Sept. 2009.
Lara Khaldi was born in Jerusalem 1982. She received her B.A in Archaeology and Art History with a minor in English literature in 2005. She is currently assistant director at the Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE. Khaldi worked as the artist coordinator for the Sharjah Biennial 8 (2007) and as co-editor and publications manager for the Sharjah Biennial 9 publications. She has Co-curated the exhibition PALESTINA: tierra, exilio, Creacion: Reconsidering Palestinian Art, Fundacion Antonio Perez, Cuenca, Spain 2006. Khaldi also worked as assistant director at Al Riwaq Art Gallery in Bahrain in 2007. She was Assistant curator for the exhibition “Never Part”, Bozar, Brussels, 2007. She was assistant curator for the exhibition “Disorientation II” at Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi in Nov. 2009. And has recently co-curated the film programme “We are Never Heros” at Al Ma’mal Foundation in Jerusalem during the 2nd Jerusalem show “On the Gates of Heaven”, Sept. 2009.About the Curator
Yazan Khalili was born in 1981 in Syria. He is a Palestinian currently studying in London. Khalili received a degree in architecture from Birzeit University in 2003, and is beginning an MA in the Research Architecture programme at Goldsmiths, London. His photography explores the relationship between the social and spatial elements of “built-environments.” He was one of the founding members of Zan Design Studio (2005) and one of the finalists in the A. M. Qattan Foundation’s Young Artists Award in 2006. Khalili was an artist-in-residence at the Delfina Foundation in London in 2008. Solo shows include Urban Impression exhibited at French Cultural Centres around Palestine, (2007/08); Margins, Delfina Foundation, London (2008). Selected group shows include Invisible, Ramallah, Amman and Rome (2006/07); No Man’s Land, Video Art, Granada, (2008); Mapping, Art Dubai, UAE (2009). He was also one of the participants in Sandi Hilal and Allesandro Petti’s Ramallah Syndrome project in the Palestine c/o Venice Pavilion at the 53 Venice Biennale, 2009. His work has recently been acquired by the British Museum and he is currently finishing his photography book The Landscape of Light and Darkness.
Yazan Khalili was born in 1981 in Syria. He is a Palestinian currently studying in London. Khalili received a degree in architecture from Birzeit University in 2003, and is beginning an MA in the Research Architecture programme at Goldsmiths, London. His photography explores the relationship between the social and spatial elements of “built-environments.” He was one of the founding members of Zan Design Studio (2005) and one of the finalists in the A. M. Qattan Foundation’s Young Artists Award in 2006. Khalili was an artist-in-residence at the Delfina Foundation in London in 2008. Solo shows include Urban Impression exhibited at French Cultural Centres around Palestine, (2007/08); Margins, Delfina Foundation, London (2008). Selected group shows include Invisible, Ramallah, Amman and Rome (2006/07); No Man’s Land, Video Art, Granada, (2008); Mapping, Art Dubai, UAE (2009). He was also one of the participants in Sandi Hilal and Allesandro Petti’s Ramallah Syndrome project in the Palestine c/o Venice Pavilion at the 53 Venice Biennale, 2009. His work has recently been acquired by the British Museum and he is currently finishing his photography book The Landscape of Light and Darkness. 
