We are Axis of Evil, a film club focused on film and moving image works that depict revolution through collective action. Our aim is to think critically about the structures of power that restrain freedoms and the organised ways in which we can fight them.
In Apartheid and Occupied Lands we will be presenting a duo of short films, which total at one hour running time, focused on the oppression of Palestine. First we will be showcasing They do Not Exist by Abu Ali Mustafa (1974), secondly A Plate of Sardines by Omar Amiraley (1997), followed by a moderated debate of half an hour.
Ending our programme for Apartheid and Occupied Lands in Cinematics we will play a mixtape by Yamen Mekdad, radio host and record collector/selector. The mixtape is dedicated to the Sheikh Jarah and all Palestinians fighting against apartheid and colonialism every second of their lives.
About the two short-films:
They do Not Exist Abu, Ali Mustafa (1974), 25 minutes
Abu Ali Mustafa is considered one of the founders of Palestine Cinema. They do Not Exist has had a turbulent history, after its completion in 1974 the film was lost for almost a decade until its recuperation from the ruins of Beirut after 1982. The film was only premiered in Palestine in the year of 2003 after a group of artists organised a clandestine screening. They do Not Exist blends politics and aesthetics with a portrait of the vacuum generated by Israeli’s violent Zionist policies. Abu Ali turns to the citizens of Palestine in order to carve a modern work that can echo the voices of those oppressed, and his insightfulness helps with constructing a collective narrative of struggle, identity, and oppression.
A Plate of Sardines, Omar Amiraley (1997), 17 minutes
A Plate of Sardines tells the story of how Omari Amiraley, one of Syria’s most prolific political filmmakers, first came to know of Israel. In his own words “The first time I heard of Israel, it was in Beirut, talking about a sardine dish. I was 6 years old, Israel was 2.” Travelling between past and present, Amiraley creates a timelessness in which history is revisited with a critical eye. His use of memory and personal storytelling conceive a work of poetic film with notes of pain, nostalgia, and resilience.
Axis of Evil
We are a film club which focuses on collective revolutionary action through film and art. The duo behind Axis of Evil is Joana Soares, artist filmmaker and writer, and Ramez Bakir, painter and writer.
