Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Fady Joudah / Hadeel Assali
(tel) 713.807.0641 / 713.402.8373
(e) info@hpff.org
(url) www.hpff.org

Voices Breaking Boundaries presents

HOUSTON PALESTINE FILM FESTIVAL
Daily admission $7
May 9-11 and May 16-18, 2008, 7:00 pm every night

(HOUSTON, April 18, 2008)—We are pleased to present the second annual Houston Palestine Film Festival. This exciting festival, cosponsored by The Station Museum, Rice Cinema, Museum of Fine Arts – Houston, KPFT Houston and many others, will bring cutting edge new cinema from Palestine and about Palestine.

The second annual Houston Palestine Film Festival brings an honest and independent view of Palestine, its diaspora, culture, and political travails through the art of film. This group of groundbreaking cinematic texts rises above the degrading stereotypes or reductively politicized depictions that are so familiar to Houstonians. The festival aims to directly expose our local community to the perspective of artists as a first step toward circumventing the many government and media filters that pollute our understanding of Palestine and the wider region.

This year the festival’s opening night will present the directors and performers from the Sundance Premiere film “Slingshot Hip-Hop” – Jackie Salloum and DAM (hip-hop group from Palestine). Following the film, there will be a performance by DAM and Mohammad Al-Farra of PR, two groups featured in the film about hip-hop in Palestine. This concert will take place at Warehouse Live in collaboration with Matt Sonzalah of AustinSurreal.com.

Some of the films in this year’s festival include the comedy feature Driving to Zigzigland (Dir. Nicole Ballivian) and 9 Star Hotel (Dir. Ido Haar), which received the Best Documentary award in the Jerusalem Film festival.

The second annual Houston Palestine Film Festival will also include a night dedicated to Iraq, with a collection of short Iraqi and Palestinian films.

“The Houston Palestine Film Festival’s aim is to share the Palestine that is not shown in mainstream media,” says Hadeel Assali. “The films provide an alternative perspective about important issues that are urgently in need of a place in public discourse today.”

Each night begins at 7pm.
May 9th – Angelika Film Center
May 10th and 11th – Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
May 16th, 17th, 18th – Rice Cinema

Directors and organizers are available for interviews.

For more information contact Sehba Sarwar at 713 524 7821 or email sehba@vbbarts.org.

VBB also offers education programs for teens and adults. Please visit our website, www.vbbarts.org, for information

VBB also offers other programs such as education programs for teens and adults. Please visit our website for information. All events are subject to change. For more information about VBB’s programming, contact Sehba Sarwar (713-524-7821 or sehba@vbbarts.org), or visit our website at www.vbbarts.org.