A Fidai Film

In the summer of 1982, the Israeli army invaded Beirut, raiding the Palestine Research Center and seizing its entire archive. This collection, which preserved historical records of Palestine, included both still and moving images. Taking this as a premise, A Fidai Film seeks to construct a counter-narrative to loss. Through artistic interventions and by exposing the damage done to the physical film copies, Aljafari reclaims the colonial image, disrupts its narratives, and builds a counter-archive, one that challenges how imperialist power shapes memory. (AF)

A Fidai Film premiered in the Visions du Réel film festival where it won the Jury Prize in the Burning Lights Competition. It has been touring the world since, collecting many awards, among them the International Feature Award at DokuFest, Cinematic Vision Award at the Camden International Film Festival, and the Tanit d’Or at the Carthage Film festival.