Featuring
Mohamed Jabaly · 2023 · 1h33m
Young Palestinian filmmaker, Mohamed Jabaly is stuck in Norway when Gaza’s borders are closed. His struggle to obtain an artist’s visa sparks the close-knit community into action.
Friday, Apr. 05, 7:00pm
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL – Cinema Politica premiere at Sofia International Film Festival
Cinema Politica and SFF invite you to the premiere of LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL by Mohamed Jabali. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the director and special guests.
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LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
Mohamed Jabali / Norway – Palestine – Qatar / 2023 / 93 min / Arabic, Norwegian and English with English and Bulgarian subtitles
Mohamed Jabali / Norway – Palestine – Qatar / 2023 / 93 min / Arabic, Norwegian and English with English and Bulgarian subtitles
In 2014, when the young Palestinian filmmaker Mohammed Jabali was on exchange in Norway, Israel closed the borders of his native Gaza indefinitely. The Norwegian government would not accept his Palestinian passport and rejected his application for a work permit. As a result of all this, Jabali unwittingly finds himself trapped with his host family in the Arctic town of Tromsø.
As he waits for the court’s decision and follows the joyless paths of political and bureaucratic logic, Jabali photographs himself and his friends and colleagues amid the snowy calm of the spectacular Norwegian landscape. These scenes contrast sharply with the harrowing images and messages he receives from family and friends in Gaza. Meanwhile, Tromsø’s close-knit artistic and film community is doing its best to support Jabali.
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL is an intimate story of overcoming the challenges imposed by international politics and rigid bureaucracy, told by a filmmaker who uses all his creativity to connect with the world and find a way forward.
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Cinema Politica is a distribution network for independent documentary cinema with topical social and political themes in universities, libraries and centres for social change and art, and returns to Sofia for the tenth consecutive year with a programme of five exciting cinema events. They will take place from 27 March to 5 April at the Goethe-Institut. The screenings will be followed by discussions with filmmakers and special guests.
Entrance is FREE!!!
Co-Presented By
