Muhammad Abujudeh

Hussam Ayesh

Leen Azzam

Hazim Bitar

A Palestinian man caught 30 meters beneath the surface of the earth in a Gaza tunnel, reflects on life as the end looms.

Into the Belly of the Whale

Very spiritual and deeply moving

I had the chance to see the Bitar&apos;s film at IDFA 2011. It&apos;s obvious Palestinian cinema, despite its limited resources, manged to compensate with a serious dose of originality and creativity and passion. This is one of those films that&apos;s hard to categorize in terms of influences. The talented director has a unique style of filmmaking that&apos;s both refreshing and thought provoking. And unlike other Palestinian filmmakers who seem to have perfected the art of evasive storytelling, this one went for the jugular without compromising the fine art of the subtext. It suffices to say a number of IDFA screenings were fully packed. The mood was somber and discussions were very intense. Very few of the foreign films I have attended at IDFA had generated so much discussion by the moviegoers. My only complaint about the film, which is obviously a product of limited budget, is the quality of the projection. The picture was soft and the audio at times flat. That said, the film is a brilliant work of art. And when considering it&apos;s a zero budget film, it&apos;s hard to give excuses to filmmakers who are well-funded.

I had the chance to see the Bitar's film at IDFA 2011. It's obvious Palestinian cinema, despite its limited resources, manged to compensate with a serious dose of originality and creativity and passion. This is one of those films that's hard to categorize in terms of influences. The talented director has a unique style of filmmaking that's both refreshing and thought provoking. And unlike other Palestinian filmmakers who seem to have perfected the art of evasive storytelling, this one went for the jugular without compromising the fine art of the subtext. It suffices to say a number of IDFA screenings were fully packed. The mood was somber and discussions were very intense. Very few of the foreign films I have attended at IDFA had generated so much discussion by the moviegoers. My only complaint about the film, which is obviously a product of limited budget, is the quality of the projection. The picture was soft and the audio at times flat. That said, the film is a brilliant work of art. And when considering it's a zero budget film, it's hard to give excuses to filmmakers who are well-funded.

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Into the Belly of the Whale

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