*Presale closed, a standby line will be accommodated*

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Mezzanine and Whammy! co-present Wedding in Galilee (1987) on VHS.

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In response to the ongoing efforts in the U.S. to silence Palestinian voices and voices of protest, we have organized this fundraiser screening of Michel Khleifi’s classic. All proceeds will be donated to Palestine Legal, an organization that helps protect the civil and constitutional rights of people who speak out for Palestinian freedom.

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SYNOPSIS

The first Palestinian narrative feature to receive international distribution, Michel Khleifi’s 1987 film – winner of the International Critics’ Prize at Cannes – is a remarkably layered and intimate portrait of Palestinian life under Israeli occupation. Filmed in Galilee and the West Bank (with financing from France and Belgium), Khleifi follows a mukhtar who wants to hold a traditional all-night wedding for his son, but the military governor insists on attending with his officers as guests of honor. Over two days, as the wedding takes place, a portrait of three generations of the mukhtar’s family emerges, moving through various perspectives (all portrayed by non-professional actors) – including the impotent groom; his sister, who dreams of escape; the village’s sternly traditional elders; a group of young militants who plot revenge; and many others. Khleifi’s slow accumulation of detail conveys a poetic evocation of “the failure of continuity and of settled existence that has attended on Israel's presence” (Edward Said).

In Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles.

Official Selection: Cannes Film Festival (Critic’s Week), 1987; New Directors/New Films, 1988; San Sebastian International Film Festival, 1987

“A profoundly affecting account of the Palestinian quandary, seen not exclusively as the result of Israeli occupation but also as the extension of problems endemic to Arab society in the late twentieth century… One is left with a remarkably reflective portrait of Palestinian life trapped inside various boxes, all of them reconfirming the present impasse. The film's affectionate frankness is indebted to Italian verismo and to the visionary clarity of many Third World films during the past two decades.” -(Edward Said, The Nation)

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WEDDING IN GALILEE / عرس الجليل

dir. Michel Khleifi, 1987, Belgium/France, VHS projection

113m

6:30pm doors

7pm screening

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Please note earlier start time. Due to the fundraising nature of the screening no member prices will be available.

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Special thanks to Kino Lorber.

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