Al Ard Film Festival

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]

Al Ard Film Festival
LocationCagliari, Sardinia
Founded2002
Most recent19th Edition, February 2023
AwardsBest Documentary Feature Film; Best Documentary Short Feature; Best Documentary on Palestine; Emerging Director Award
Websitehttps://alardfilmfestival.com/

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.

Edition Year Date Awards
1 2002 ?
2 2003 ?
3 2004 ?
4 2005 24 - 26 November
5 2006 1 - 3 December
6 2008 7 - 9 February
7 2009 5 - 7 February
8 2010 ?
9 2011 15 - 19 February
  • Audience Award
    This is my Land… Hebron by Giulia Amati, Stephen Natarson | Italy, 2010
  • 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
10 2012 6 - 10 March
  • Audience Award
    Tomorrow’s Land by A. Paco Mariani, N. Zambelli | Italy, 2011
  • Best Emerging Director
    Bilal Yousef for Back to One’s Root | Palestine/Qatar, 2009
  • Best Film About Palestine
    Gaza, Guerra all’Informazione by Anna Maia Selini | Italy, 2009 and Tomorrow’s Land by A. Paco Mariani, N. Zambelli | Italy, 2011
  • Best Documentary of the Festival
    Tears of Gaza by Vibeke Lokkeberg | Norway, 2011
11 2013 November
  • Best Emerging Director
    Axel Salvatori-Sinz for The Shebabs of Yarmouk | France, 2012
  • Best Film About Palestine
    The Kingdom of Women: Ein el Hilweh by Dahna Abourahme | Lebanon, 2010
  • Best Documentary of the Festival
    Infiltrators by Khaled Jarrar | Palestine, 2012
  • Special Mentions of the Jury
    In my Mother’s Arms by Atia & Mohamed Al-Daradji, Iraq, 2011
    Palestina per Principianti by Francesco Merini | Italy, 2012
12 2015 18 - 21 March
  • Audience Award:
    Striplife. Gaza in a day by Nicola Grignani, Alberto Mussolini, Luca Scaffidi, Valeria Testagrossa, Andrea Zambelli
  • Best Emerging Director:
    Sara Dhedel, Hamza Khalifa, Oday Al Taneeb, Rawan Tamimi, Jaber Abu Rahmeh, Mahmoud Hathaleen, Ahmad Amro for Unknown Soldiers
  • Best Film About Palestine:
    Striplife. Gaza in a day by Nicola Grignani, Alberto Mussolini, Luca Scaffidi, Valeria Testagrossa, Andrea Zambelli
  • Best Documentary of the Festival:
    We Cannot Go There Now, My Dear by Carol Mansour
13 2016 9 - 12 March
  • Audience Award:
    Dreams Behind the Wall by Elena Herreros | Palestine, 2015
  • Best Emerging Director
    Ahmad al-Bazz e Yasser Jodallah for To My Mother
  • Best Film About Palestine
    The Living of the Pigeons by Baha’ Abu Shanab | Palestine, 2014
  • Best Documentary of the Festival
    Nun wa Zaytun by Emtiaz Diab | Palestine, 2015
  • Special Mentions of the Jury:
    30th of March by Nidal Badarny | Palestine, 2014
    Roshmia by Salim Abu Jabal | Palestine 2014
14 2017 7 - 11 March
  • Audience Award
    Detained Dreams by Nisreen Silmi
  • Best Emerging Director
    Elia Ghorbiah for The Bitter Ink
  • Best Film About Palestine
    The Wanted 18 by Amer Shomali
    Death Tunnel by Mohamed Harb
  • Best Documentary of the Festival
    Coffee For All Nations by Wafa’ Espvall
    Emwas ..Restoring Memories by Dima Abu Ghoush
  • Special Mentions of the Jury:
    Encounter with a Lost Land by Maryse Garghour
15 2018 17 - 24 March
  • Audience Award (assigned by the audience)
    The Truth: Lost at Sea by Rifat Audeh (Jordan)
  • 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)
16 2019 11 - 16 March[8]
  • Audience Award (assigned by the audience)
    Broken. A Palestinian Journey through International Law by Mohammed Alatar
  • Al Ard Award (best documentary of the Festival, assigned by the jury)
    You Come from Far Away by Amal Ramsis
  • Palestine Award (best documentary about Palestine, assigned by the jury)
    Five Minutes by Ahmed Nasser Barghouti
  • Emerging Director Award (assigned by the jury)
    Razan by Hanan Alastal and Iyad Alastal
  • Special Mentions of the Jury
    Farming Under Fire by Matthew Cassel
    Broken. A Palestinian Journey through International Law by Mohammed Alatar
  • Sardegna Palestina Award (assigned by the Selection Board)
    Mirrors of Diaspora by Kasim Abid
  • Echo of the Camp Award (assigned by the Selection Board)
    Without Waves by Wisam Al Jafari
17 2020 17 - 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
18 2022 9 - 13 March
  • Audience Award (assigned by the audience)
    Sarura. The Future is an Unknown Place by Nicola Zambelli
  • Al Ard Award (best documentary of the Festival, assigned by the jury)
    Beirut: Eye of the Storm by Mai Masri
  • Palestine Award (best documentary about Palestine, assigned by the jury)
    Letter to a Friend by Emily Jacir
  • Emerging Director Award (assigned by the jury)
    Liwan: a Story of Cultural Resistance by Doris Hakim
  • Sardegna Palestina Award (assigned by the Selection Board)
    Walled Citizen by Sameer Qumsiyeh
  • Handala Award (assigned by the Selection Board)
    What Remains by Christian Harb
  • Special Mentions of the Jury:
    A Talk with Remarkable People by Maryse Garghour
    Bank of Targets by Roshdi Sarraj
    The Wall by Mira Sidawi
19 2023 21-25 February
  • Audience Award (assigned by the audience)
    Sulla loro pelle by Marika Ikonomu, Alessandro Leone and Simone Manda
  • Best documentary Feature Film (assigned by the Jury)
    Not Just Your Picture – the Story of the Kilani family directed by Anne Paq and Dror Dayan
  • Palestine Award (best documentary about Palestine, assigned by the Jury)
    Erasmus in Gaza by Chiara Avesani and Matteo Delbò
  • Emerging Director Award (assigned by the Jury)
    Last May in Palestine by Rabeea Eid
  • Best Documentary Short Feature (assigned by the Jury)
    4000 voices by Sajjad Kwaish
  • Sardegna Palestina Award (assigned by the Selection Board)
    Sulla loro pelle by Marika Ikonomu, Alessandro Leone and Simone Manda
  • Best Film Fiction (short feature - assigned by the Selection Board)
    Yalla by Carlo D'Ursi
  • Special Mentions of the Jury:
    Eulogy for the Dead Sea by Polina Teif
    Waiting for Farajallah by Nidal Badarny

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. "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.
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